Hope for a Homunculus
by Dusksgirl
Summary: Lyndah is an Aura Alchemist from a faraway country. When a dream tells her to go to Amestris, she ends up finding a lot more than she bargained for. Can she help save both the country and the figure from her dreams? Is there really hope for Homunculi?
1. Coming to Amestris

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters or storyline. I only own Lyndah, other names I add in myself, Aurora and plot alterations that came from my own mind~**

 **A/N: This is my first published fanfic. Reviews are welcome as well as constructive critisism :3**

 **(Fixed a mistake I should have found the first 3 times I proof read this. My apologies)**

Lyndah sat aboard the train, staring out of the window as she watched her homeland of Aurora fading off in the distance. This was it. She was leaving her past far behind her and looking for a new life. She was heading to the country of Amestris, far to the East. It was where the dream had told her to go and Aurorans always listened to their dreams.

Aurorans were users of Aura Alchemy. Unlike other types of alchemy which were used with the aid of external elements, Aura alchemy was performed using the aura from one's body which made it both mysterious and limitless depending on the user. No transmutation circles were needed for Aura Alchemy as it came from the strength of the user's Aura. It bypassed the laws of equivalent exchange as Aura was constantly being produced from the soul. Skilled Aura Alchemists could manipulate Aura in any way they wished and even solidify it. Legends told of Aura Alchemists with Aura powerful enough to sustain another life, but none had been seen for centuries. Occasionally, Aura Alchemists would have strange dreams telling them to follow certain paths and it was their custom to follow these dreams. Not a single Auroran has ever been led astray by the dreams.

Lyndah remembered back to her dream. She saw Amestris and a place called the Central Command Centre. She saw a tall military man with an eye patch and her attention had turned to a figure she couldn't make out. Something inside the figure's soul was crying.

She pondered what it all meant. She was certain this was the first location she needed to go to and see the man with the eye patch. But her true purpose for being there must have had something to do with the sad figure. Perhaps she was meant to help them?

The train ride lasted two entire days before arriving at the Amestrian border. Lyndah got up from her seat and stretched. She was quite sore after such a long ride. She picked up her luggage and headed out onto the platform. Up ahead, she saw men in military uniforms guarding the border gate. She approached the men.

"Halt!" One of the men confronted her. Lyndah looked up at him uneasily. Two other men now stood just behind him. "Who are you and what business do you have here in Amestris?"

Lyndah was struck with nervousness. She wasn't the most confident of people.

Before she could answer another man spoke up from the gate.

"Now, now. I'm sure there is no need to be so intimidating"

A tall aged man with short dark hair appeared through the gate. He had a moustache and was wearing a military uniform. Above his kind smile he wore an eye patch. It was the man from the dream.

"Sir!" The three men all turned and saluted.

"Now what brings you here young lady?" The eye patched man spoke in a kind tone that immediately made Lyndah feel at ease.

"I'm from the country of Aurora, Sir. I was hoping to live here." She held her breath waiting for a response.

The man looked at her intently for a moment.

"And what is your name?"

"It's Lyndah, Sir. Lyndah Kurokaze."

The man's smile grew larger.

"Well I can't see why not. My name is King Bradley. I guess you could say I'm the Fuhrer of this country." His words were unnaturally casual.

Lyndah was taken aback. She did not expect the country's leader to be so down to Earth. She bowed her head politely.

"It is a pleasure to meat you, Sir."

Fuhrer Bradley turned to the men.

"Make sure this girl gets to my office back at Central. I have a few things to take care of before I return, then we will further discuss her stay."

"Sir, yes sir!" The men yelled.

"Please come this way." One of the men motioned to Lyndah and she followed.

She turned back to Fuhrer Bradley who was now smiling and waving happily at her. She smiled and waved back. That's when she picked up the Aura. At least, she thought it was an Aura. It felt like many Auras. But that was impossible. She pushed the thought out of her mind and followed the soldier through the gate.

After boarding yet another train and going on another long train ride with a different soldier, Lyndah arrived in Central. Someone must have phoned in about her arrival because a very tall muscular man was waiting for them at the station. He also wore a military uniform and had a blonde moustache. A small curl of hair sprouted triumphantly from a shiny bald head, curling down his forehead. Lyndah had never seen a man this huge.

"Well hello. You must be Lyndah. I am Major Armstrong. I was told to escort you to the Central Command Centre." He spoke in a deep voice.

"Yes, that's me. It's lovely to meet you." She bowed politely.

Armstrong's face lit up.

"Quite the polite young lady."

He saluted the soldier who accompanied her on the train and turned to leave. Lyndah followed close behind, afraid she could get easily lost. Once outside the station, they approached a car. Armstrong proceeded to open the passenger door.

"Right this way, miss."

Lyndah put her luggage in the back seat and sat down. Major Armstrong got into the driver's seat and started up the vehicle. Once they were on their way, Armstrong decided to strike conversation.

"So, I hear you're from Aurora."

"Yes, that's right." Lyndah was a little shocked by the sudden break of silence.

"So what brings you to Amestris?" Armstrong sounded interested.

Lyndah shifted a little in her seat.

"Well... I was kind of out casted as a child, so I never felt I belonged. I had a dream telling me I should come here, so I did." She looked up at Armstrong.

He was silent for a moment, before turning his face, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh dear that's awful for such a lovely girl to be out casted by her peers!"

Lyndah was completely taken aback.

"No really, it's fine. Please don't be upset."

After a short drive and an unbearable lecture about how 'kids can be so cruel', they arrived at Central Command Centre. Lyndah was led through a vast maze of doors and hallways until they came to a door bearing the name 'Bradley'. Two men stood at either side of the door.

"This is Lyndah, the girl the Fuhrer wanted to see." Armstrong alerted the two men.

"Of course. Come right in." The man to the right spoke up and they both saluted.

The man who had spoken knocked on the door and opened it a small portion.

"Sir, the girl is here."

He then opened the door and stepped aside so Lyndah and Armstrong could go inside. In the room were several military men. Several soldiers stood at the edges of the room, while only a few higher ranked men and a woman sat around the desk. At the desk was Fuhrer Bradley.

 _How did he get here so fast?_ Lyndah thought to herself. There was also another man standing a small ways behind him with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"Ahh, Lyndah. Please, take a seat." Fuhrer Bradley offered with a smile, gesturing to the seat directly in front of the desk.

Lyndah approached the desk and sat down. The man standing behind Fuhrer Bradley opened one eye to look at Lyndah. His brown messy hair dangled lightly around his features. Something deep within him stirred when he saw the girl and he opened his other eye to watch what happened.

"So, Lyndah. I've never met an Aura Alchemist before. You could prove very useful to our military." Fuhrer Bradley started off.

Lyndah was taken aback; she hadn't expected to be offered such a proposition on her arrival. She shuffled a little uncomfortably in her seat.

"I never came here to fight. But if people need protecting, then I will."

Fuhrer Bradley contemplated her response.

"Well that's fine. I will have you stay in your own apartment here in Central. To earn your keep, I would like you to type up files for me. Not too big a job." He instructed then turned to a dark haired man to Lyndah's left. "Colonel Mustang, I know the Elric brothers are still doing their own research. I'd like you to introduce Lyndah to them. Her knowledge may be of use to them. She can assist them with that."

"Yes, Sir." Colonel Mustang nodded.

"Also Lyndah, if you see citizens who need assistance, if you can use your alchemy to help them, I encourage you to do so. That way by staying here, you are also giving back to the community. I'll have my assistant show you to your apartment." The Fuhrer dug around in one of his desk drawers and pulled out a key. "I had my family stay in that apartment while our house was being renovated. I'm sure it will be to your liking."

He handed Lyndah the key.

"Thank you, Sir." She bowed her head gratefully.

Fuhrer Bradley motioned to the man behind him.

"Vincent, please show this young lady the way to her apartment and the office Mustang is currently borrowing."

Vincent nodded his head and walked towards the door. Lyndah stood from her seat and began to follow him. As she got to the door, she turned around.

"Thank you so much everyone." She bowed.

"Glad to have you among us. Hope to see you around, Lyndah." Fuhrer Bradley said gleefully.

Lyndah and Vincent walked silently down a hallway. Lyndah looked over at him. He was a fairly young officer; she figured he must be skilled to have made it to Fuhrer's assistant so young. That's when she felt it. The Aura was a lot like what she felt when she met the Fuhrer. It wasn't right. It felt like far more than just one person. She shook the feeling away. Maybe her nerves were making her cloudy?

Vincent looked towards her. She was now looking around taking in the building. For some reason, he felt drawn to her. He just couldn't figure out why.

They stopped in front of an office.

"This is Mustang's temporary office until he goes back to his station in West City." His tone seemed uninterested and distracted.

"Uh, okay." Lyndah replied with slight unease.

Vincent then turned to continue through the building. Sometime later, they came to an apartment.

"This one's yours." Vincent gestured towards the door.

Lyndah slowly unlocked the door and opened it. It was dark inside. She felt around for a light switch and turned on the light. It was a spacious apartment that started off in a lounge room. A dining area sat behind it and a kitchen was to the right of it. A wall divided the kitchen from a hallway which could be accessed from the lounge and from a small doorway at the other end of the kitchen. At the end of the hallway to the left, was the bathroom. Between the bathroom and kitchen was a small laundry that led out onto a balcony and opposite the laundry, was a large bedroom.

Lyndah looked around the apartment silently. Vincent sensed her discomfort, realising he hadn't been very welcoming and decided to put on a friendlier tone.

"Make yourself at home! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me." He said with a smile.

Lyndah breathed, feeling more relaxed. She smiled back at him.

"Thank you so much."

Vincent closed the door and walked back down the hall. Lyndah took her suitcase to the bedroom and started to unpack. This didn't seem so bad. She pondered at the thought of the Elric brothers who she was still to meet.

 _I hope they're nice._ She thought to herself.

The man known as Vincent wondered into an empty room and closed the door. He took a seat and sighed. Red sparks engulfed him and his formed changed to a younger man closer to Lyndah's age. He had long greenish-black hair that flopped untidily out of a black headband. He wore black feminine clothing and bore an Ouroborus tattoo on the outside of his left thigh. He rested his head on his hand and began to think about the girl he had just met. Why did she intrigue him? He hated humans. What was so different about her that it made him want to get to know her? He just couldn't figure it out.

"Guess I'll just keep an eye on her." He decided in vain.


	2. The Elric Brothers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. I only own Lyndah and the other stuff that came from my head**

 **A/N: I'd like to personally thank those of you who left feedback so quickly. It means a lot to know that my writing is appreciated. I have never had the courage to share my writing with people until now and it makes me so happy to know you are already enjoying it. I may have teared up a little /**

 **In response to my reviews,**

 **To the guesting reader: Fuhrer Bradley wants to appear as the 'good guy'. It's all part of his plan. I hope I don't disappoint you ^^**

 **To 37: It does have similarities to Alkahestry, but instead of coming from the 'Dragon's pulse', it comes from the Aura of the user. My inspiration for the idea of using Aura is actually the Pokemon Lucario :3 But in this story, it's a lot like Alchemy. For example, it can be temporarily concentrated into a weapon or sent in hot bursts similar to a flame. Don't worry, Armstrong only didn't take his shirt off because he was driving :P**

 **To Izzyboopers: Thank you so much for your support. I hope the story ends up being to your liking :)**

Lyndah awoke, staring up at the ceiling. She had just spent her first night in Amestris. It didn't go so bad. She sat up and pushed off the covers. There was a window on the wall to the right of the bed. She walked over to it and opened the curtains. It was a bright day despite the cloud cover. Lyndah could already feel herself filling with excitement for the future that lay ahead of her. She skipped over to the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room. Opening it, she flicked through her limited amount of clothing and eventually decided on a grey shirt and black jeans.

 _I'm going to need to go clothes shopping at some point._ She thought to herself.

She took the clothes into the bathroom. She peered into the mirror above the sink. She could see her dark blonde hair bunched up in all different places slightly resembling a bird's nest.

 _Yikes._

After taking a shower, she grabbed one of the apples out of a bowl on the kitchen counter. The lady that had been in the Fuhrer's office, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, had been nice enough to bring around several bags of food for her as a welcome gift. She quickly ate the apple and headed out the door. She had received a message yesterday to see Colonel Mustang at his office the following day.

Lyndah started making her way down several halls. After a few minutes, she decided she was completely lost. She brought her hands up to the sides of her face and groaned.

"Hey, Lyndah!" The overly enthusiastic voice of Vincent Canter piped up from behind her. "You look like you could use some help."

She turned her head slowly, cheeks flushed.

"I'm lost..." She admitted with defeat.

Vincent chuckled softly.

"I thought that might be the case. I'll help you out. Where were you headed?"

"Mustang's office." She hung her head in shame. "I really did try to remember when you showed me..."

 _What an idiot._ Vincent thought to himself. But he didn't let his annoyance break through his cover. He rested his hand on the girls shoulder.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't expect you to take it all in right away. No need to be upset." He smiled.

Lyndah lifted her head to look at his warm smile. She felt a little better.

"Thanks, Vincent." She returned a soft, uneasy smile.

Vincent thought for a moment then pulled out a notebook and a pen from his pocket. He scribbled something down, then tore out the paper and handed it to Lyndah.

"Here, if you're ever lost, call this number. If I'm there, I'll help you out."

Lyndah blushed a little at the kind gesture.

"Wow, thank you."

"No problem." Vincent gave her a friendly wink then started off down the hallway. "His office is this way."

Lyndah followed until they reached the office, when Vincent turned and waved. "See you around Lyndah."

She waved back at him then knocked on the door.

"Come in." Colonel Mustang's voice was calm and welcoming.

Lyndah opened the door. Colonel Mustang was behind his desk. Two people were sitting with him. One was a huge figure in a metal suit of armour and the other was a boy with golden hair in a braid and golden eyes.

"Ah, Lyndah, perfect timing. Please sit down." Mustang gestured to an empty seat between the others.

Lyndah sat down nervously.

"Lyndah, I'd like you to meet the Elric brothers." He gestured towards the boy. "This here is Edward Elric. The other is his brother, Alphonse Elric."

"Hi." Both boys said in unison.

The armoured boy sounded far younger than Lyndah had first thought. She noticed their Auras. Ed's was quite strong and embodied confidence. But Al's was incomplete. She turned to Al.

"Um... You're not all there are you?"

Al seemed taken aback, as did Ed.

"How did you know?" Al asked in a small voice.

"Lyndah is an Aura Alchemist." Mustang chimed in.

"I can sense Aura. As well as manipulate it." She explained and then turned to look at Al with sympathetic eyes. "Please, tell me what happened."

Ed held his right arm out next to her with the sleeve pulled up. It was completely made of automail. Lyndah looked at it shocked. Ed gave out a painful sigh.

"When we were younger, our mother passed away. We... tried to bring her back." Ed struggled to keep his voice calm and steady. "It went wrong. It turns out you can't transmute the dead. Al... He lost his entire body and I lost a leg. I gave up this arm just to merge his soul to the suit of armour."

Al lifted off his head to reveal an empty suit. Lyndah's eyes saddened.

"I'm so sorry." She spoke softly.

"You are going to be helping them in their search for ways to get their bodies back." Colonel Mustang interrupted.

"Oh, of course." Lyndah's spirits lifted.

"Ed and Al are also Alchemists. They call Ed the Fullmetal Alchemist, since he is a State Alchemist. Actually, the Fuhrer has been referring to you as the Aura Alchemist. Guess you ended up with a nickname even if you're not a State Alchemist..." Mustang tried to hide his concern.

Ed and Al got up from their seats.

"We are staying down the hall from you. Feel free to come see us." Ed waved as they left the room.

"Sure." Lyndah smiled back and waved.

She turned back when she heard Mustang clear his throat. He gave her a stack of hand written notes and a typewriter.

"If you could type up these reports for the Fuhrer as well, that would be great. I put a mock report in there to show you how to do it. Just leave them with the guards outside the Fuhrer's office when you're done. Oh, here is some paper too to get you started."

He passed her a stack of paper. Lyndah gathered up all of the items.

"Thank you Colonel." She bowed her head.

"Honestly, Lyndah, you don't need to be formal with me. You can just call me Roy." He smiled kindly.

After leaving Roy's office, Lyndah managed to find her way back to her room while juggling the day's work. She felt pretty proud of herself for not getting lost this time. She set the typewriter onto a small desk against the wall in the lounge room. She sat on the chair and sifted through the papers to find the example.

 _Well this doesn't look too hard._ She thought to herself, looking at the layout. She loaded the typewriter and began her work.

Vincent was in an elevator on his way to an unknown floor. Red sparks crackled around him and the long haired male returned. The elevator opened to a dark hallway covered in piping. He walked down the hallway and turned towards a door. He opened it to reveal a large room filled with different sized cages. In the cages were strange creatures that were eyeing him eerily. A pale woman with thick black hair and wearing a black dress was with a plump bald male in the centre of the room.

The woman turned.

"Ah, Envy, I was wondering when you were going to get here." The woman looked uninterested despite her tone.

Envy shot her an annoyed glance.

"I see Gluttony is stuffing his face again. If he explodes, I'm not cleaning up the mess." His husky voice went flat.

The plump Gluttony was chewing vigorously on the bones of some poor mammal. The woman looked at Envy disgusted.

"Father wants us to check up on Cornello. We need to speed things up over there."

Envy looked at her with a pout.

"Aw, Lust, why do I have to go? Can't you handle it on your own?"

"I can't stand in his place if things go south." She retorted.

"Fine, we'll go tomorrow. I have things to do." Envy was already walking towards the door.

"Since when do you have things to do?" Lust looked at him with suspicion.

"None of your business." He shot back before closing the door.

A few hours had passed and Lyndah had finally finished her work. She stretched and gave a sigh. Now she could finally have time to herself. After managing to find her way to the Fuhrer's office and back, she decided to find out if there was a library. If she was going to be doing research, she would probably be spending a lot of time there. She pulled out the note with the number Vincent gave her. She looked around her apartment for the phone and found one on a small chest of drawers in the corner of the dining area. She dialled the number and waited. After a few rings, Vincent answered.

"Good timing Lyndah, I just walked in." His tone was jolly.

"Is there a library around here?" She asked.

"Yes of course, would you like me to escort you there?" Vincent already knew what she wanted.

"Yes, please."

A short time later, Envy knocked on Lyndah's door disguised as Vincent. She opened the door and smiled. Something in Envy's chest tightened.

 _The hell?!_ He thought before getting back into character.

"All ready to go?" He asked grinning.

"Yep." Lyndah locked the door behind her.

They were silent as they walked down the hallways. Envy glanced over at Lyndah. She really didn't look too bad for a human. Her silky hair hung neatly just below her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkled whenever they passed a window and her pale skin looked incredibly soft...

 _What the hell am I thinking?_ Envy turned away quickly. _Why the hell do I give a damn what she looks like?!_

They turned a corner to reveal a pair of doors with 'Central Library' written on them.

"There's another set of doors on the ground floor that lead outside. So you can access the library from there if you forget where to go." Envy instructed before turning away.

"Thank you so much!" Lyndah called out.

Envy lifted his hand in a gesture to say 'no problem' without turning to look at her.

Lyndah opened the library doors and went inside.


	3. Liore

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters etc. I own Lyndah and various little bits**

 **A/N: Sorry this took so long everyone. I had this chapter originally as the first chapter of this story and had to completely rewrite it to fit with the previous chapters. I honestly feel like I could have done better with it, but I hope you all like it anyway. Most of this chapter falls in with the FMA Brotherhood story and I did quote lines from it to give it familiarity, though some lines were altered. Envy is in here though. Have no fear :)**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed and gave me encouragement. It truly warms my heart to have your support**

 **Special thanks to Izzyboopers for her inspiration and continued support**

Several days had passed. Lyndah was settling into her new home quite nicely. Her, Ed and Al had become fast friends. Ed had even introduced her to his Automail mechanic and friend, Winry Rockbell, while she dropped by to do some maintenance on his Automail.

They were currently on their way to Liore together to find a priest named Father Cornello. Lyndah knew she would have a pile of work to do when she got back, but she also needed the break. She watched the countryside outside her window fly by as the train passed swiftly over the tracks. Excitement swelled within her stomach at the possibilities of adventure that lay ahead.

When the train finally arrived at the station, Lyndah grabbed her bag and the trio stepped onto the platform.

"Well, here we are." Ed said looking over the town.

The town was old and a little shabby, but it had a friendly air about it. Lyndah's stomach let out a loud growl and she blushed.

"Well I guess before we go and find Cornello, we should get something to eat." Ed laughed while rubbing the back of his head.

Lyndah nodded slightly embarrassed and they headed off into town to find some food.

A short time later, the trio were sitting at a food stall enjoying a nice meal. A radio sat on the edge of the roof just above their heads playing the local radio station. As they ate, a man came on the radio talking about the Sun God Leto. The man behind the counter had been staring at them for several minutes.

"Yes?" Lyndah asked once she couldn't take him staring anymore.

"Are you lot like, street performers or something?" The man rubbed his chin.

Ed spat out the juice he was drinking in disgust.

"No, we're not." Lyndah replied slightly offended.

Ed got up from his seat and sighed.

"Come on, let's just go."

As Al stood though, he hit his head on the veranda and knocked the radio from where it was sitting, smashing it onto the ground. The man behind the counter looked at it in horror.

"I'm so sorry, sir." Al waved his hands apologetically.

Ed smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"Don't worry, we'll fix it."

"How are you going to fix it? It's smashed to bits!" The man yelled.

Lyndah smiled kindly.

"Don't worry, sir. Just you watch."

Lyndah reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of chalk. She handed it to Al, who then bent down and drew a transmutation circle on the ground. Ed picked up the pieces of the broken radio and placed them in the circle. Al put his hands down on the ground next to the circle and suddenly it lit up. Within seconds, the radio was completely reconstructed. Lyndah stood there with a huge smile on her face. She had been yet to see Al use Alchemy. She had seen Ed do a few things in the short time they had spent together, but Al had yet to use Alchemy in front of her.

The man behind the counter gasped, along with a few other people who were nearby.

"You've been touched by the sun God, Leto, just like Father Cornello!" He exclaimed.

Ed looked at him uneasy.

"Touched by who now?"

"No, that's just Alchemy. Ed and Al here are Alchemists." Lyndah chuckled.

The man thought for a second, then seemed to come to a realisation.

"Oh! I've heard of you! The Fullmetal Alchemist!"

A small crowd suddenly gathered around Al in excitement. Lyndah face-palmed.

"Oh, no, it's not me." Al reassured the crowd.

They stopped suddenly and turned towards Ed.

"You mean it's the little guy there?" Someone spoke up.

Ed cringed and he shook in anger. Lyndah covered her ears ready for what was about to come next.

"Say that to my face!" Ed screamed at the crowd in anger.

He was about to run at them, but Lyndah grabbed onto his coat to stop him.

" Come on, Ed. You can't expect them to know."

Once Ed had calmed down, Lyndah let go of him and turned to a member of the crowd.

"Excuse me, could you show us where we can find Father Cornello?"

The man she had spoken to had led them to a large area that was in front of a church. Many people were gathered in front of the church steps. There was a broad bald man standing atop the steps speaking. He held out a small pink flower and covered it with his other hand. Suddenly, red light leaked from between his hands and as soon as the bright flash of light subsided, a huge crystallized flower had appeared on a large sash around him. The crowd applauded.

"He is definitely using Alchemy." Lyndah said flatly.

"Yep. But he is bypassing the laws of equivalent exchange, which can only mean one thing..." Ed squinted to get a better look at Cornello.

After a short moment, he spotted it. A gold ring supporting a red stone sat on one of Cornello's fingers.

"Bingo! The ring! It must be a Philosopher's Stone!"

Al looked at Cornello and nodded his head in agreement. They waited until the crowd had dispersed so that they could make their way to the church. When they entered, the room was empty except for one young woman. Many statues and paintings depicting Leto could be seen throughout the church.

"So this is Leto..." Ed trailed off.

The woman who was at the altar praying heard him speak and stood up to turn to them.

"Hello! Are you interested in Letoism?"

"Sorry, can't say I am. I'm not really the religious type." Ed replied.

The woman looked to him with a saddened smile.

"I'm sorry to hear that. To know God is to know hope. If you believed, I'm sure Leto would bless you and make you taller!" the woman smiled with kind honesty.

Ed didn't take too well to the comment and bunched his fists.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Al stepped in before Ed could react further.

"Brother, please calm down. She was just trying to help."

Lyndah sighed and shook her head at the boy. Ed walked over to a bench and sat down. Lyndah looked around the room admiring the artwork. She was herself, an artist and enjoyed looking at other works of art. Her mind wondered a bit until part of the conversation brought her back to reality.

"What about bringing the dead back to life? Do you believe that's possible too?" Ed asked the woman.

"Yes" She replied confidently.

Lyndah watched as Ed sighed and pulled a notebook from his pocket. He opened it and started reading the handwritten text.

"Water 35 litres, carbon 20 kilograms, ammonia 4 litres, lime 1.5 kilograms, phosphorus 800 grams, salt 250 grams, saltpetre 100 grams and various other trace elements..."

The woman looked at Ed in utter confusion. Ed closed the book.

"This is a list of the ingredients that make up the average human adult. As a kid, we could buy these with the change in our pockets. It turns out, humans are pretty cheap." Ed chuckled sadly to himself. "Even the greatest Alchemists couldn't bring back a person. You're trying to tell me that something that modern science can't do, you can do with prayer?"

The woman looked as if she was getting angry. Lyndah decided this was enough.

"Hey, listen. Do you think you could take us to see Father Cornello?" She got closer to the woman's ear. "Maybe he could help Ed here stop being so arrogant." She sniggered.

The woman seemed delighted by the idea.

"Of course! Please, come right this way."

The woman led them down a hallway and stopped to tell a man to go on ahead to alert Father Cornello of their arrival. The man quickly rushed off ahead of them and the party slowly made their way to a large room. After a few moments, some men walked into the room and approached the group. One of them pulled out a pistol and pointed it towards Al. Rose stepped towards him, her eyes wide.

"Brother Cray, what do you think you are doing?!"

"Rose, these heathens are evil. They want to disgrace the Church of Leto and cause ruin. Trust me, this is God's will." Brother Cray said angrily, never moving his gun.

Lyndah was infuriated by the accusations. Thinking quickly, she feigned passing out as a quick distraction. It worked as just for a moment, Brother Cray's attention was drawn to the fallen girl. Ed took the opportunity to kick the gun from Brother Cray's hands. As soon as Lyndah heard the impact, she got up from the ground and braced herself. The group of angry men charged at the Alchemists, but Ed and Al quickly blocked their attacks. Al used his size to his advantage and grabbed one of the men. Lyndah then punched the man in the face, knocking him unconscious. Ed darted through Brother Cray and the remaining men giving them all a firm knock to the back of the head. Within seconds, all the men lay sprawled out on the ground around them.

"What is all this commotion?" Father Cornello said entering the room from atop a flight of stairs. "Ah, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Welcome. I sincerely apologise for the behaviour of my disciples."

"Yeah, right. Now tell me, how come you're using Alchemy to deceive people into thinking you can perform miracles?" Ed spat in disgust.

Cornello raised his brows at Ed.

"Excuse me? What I do is perform miracles with the power given to me by the Sun God, Leto." He conjured a mini Leto statue in his hand. "If I was using Alchemy, then how could I just create something out of thin air like this?"

"Your ring." Ed pointed. "It's a Philosopher's Stone!"

"That is absurd. The ring is simply just a ring." Cornello smiled confidently.

Ed gritted his teeth in anger. Father Cornello just wasn't letting up.

"Guess I will just have to come up there and beat some truth out of you!"

Lyndah sighed. They really weren't getting anywhere like this. Suddenly Cornello turned to Rose.

"Rose, dear, do you see that gun on the floor beside you?"

Rose looked to the floor and saw the gun. She then turned back to look at Cornello.

"Yes?"

"Could you pick it up for me?" Cornello asked her with a grin.

Rose picked up the gun and looked at it blankly. Cornello sniggered evilly.

"Now, I want you to shoot the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Rose's eye widened in horror.

"N-no! I..." She trailed off.

"My word is the word of Leto, Rose. Who was it that saved you when your fiancé passed away and gave you hope?" Said Cornello.

With shaking hands, Rose slowly raised the gun. She gritted her teeth, tears beginning to spill from her wide, terrified eyes and pointed the gun at Al.

"It's me, Damn it!" Ed yelled.

Rose, startled by Ed's sudden outburst, accidentally pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into Al's head. Al fell over backwards, his head falling to the floor beside him. Rose let out a blood curdling shriek, not believing what she had just done. Lyndah watched on from a little ways away from them. She felt sorry for Rose. She looked so scared and confused.

Father Cornello let out a loud laugh.

"Now, Rose, shoot the other one as well."

Rose couldn't move. Hearing Cornello's instructions only made her trembling worsen.

"Haven't you made her do enough already?" Al said sitting up.

He picked up his head and placed it back on his shoulders. Father Cornello and Rose stared at him in disbelief. Angry, Cornello clicked his fingers and a gate opened.

"Well then, let's see how you do against my chimera!"

Out from behind the gate, a huge creature appeared. It had the head and front legs of a lion, its back legs were feathered and the feet and talons represented that of an eagle while a long reptilian tail swept through the air behind it. Cornello pointed towards Ed and the beast charged towards him, slashing at him. Ed moved out of the way, but the chimera's claws ripped through the left leg of his pants, revealing the automail that lay beneath.

"Nice try." Ed chuckled and held up his arm at the oncoming creature. "How do you like the taste of metal?"

He held up his right arm as the chimera bit down onto it. The sleeve tore, but Ed's automail arm held in the creatures clenching jaws. The chimera widened its eyes in confusion. Ed took the opportunity to kick the chimera in the head, causing it to fly upwards and land on its back. Lyndah saw this as her time to shine and rushed over to the temporarily dazed creature. Placing her hands on its side, she concentrated on its Aura. She sent hypnotic waves of Aura through the beast until it fell into a deep slumber.

"Wow, nice one, Lyndah." Ed gave her the thumbs up.

Lyndah smiled back at him.

"Wait, so you have lost limbs and your brother lost his entire body? I see now! You committed the taboo, didn't you? You see this, Rose? This is the price for their sin, thinking they could bring the dead back to life!" Cornello laughed.

Rose's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't believe the words she was hearing.

"Rose..." Ed spoke softly to her. "This is what happens when you try to play God, Rose. Is this really what you want?"

Rose began to tremble violently. She couldn't speak. It was all too much. Ed turned his attention back to Cornello.

"Hand over the Stone Cornello. The game is up."

"I will do no such thing." Cornello retorted.

Red light flashed in Cornello's right hand and a large gun appeared. Ed's eyes widened.

"Lyndah, Al! Get Rose out of here!" He shouted.

Lyndah and Al nodded and Al lifted Rose into his arms. Lyndah conjured a ball of Aura and sent it out behind her. It flew several feet before erupting into a blinding light, allowing their escape. Ed used his Alchemy to blast a hole through a nearby wall and they ran into the hallway. They started running down the hall when a group of men blocked their path. Ed turned his automail arm into a vicious looking blade and the approaching men flinched in fear. The trio gave a few swift punches and the men were left stunned as Ed, Al and Lyndah continued running down the hall. Cornello could be heard yelling from the opening in the wall Ed had created.

They passed by a room with some radio equipment in it when Ed had an idea.

"Lyndah, take this speaker with you outside with Al and Rose." He said handing Lyndah a large object.

She nodded and they ran out of the church. Her and Al set up the speaker and sat down waiting patiently. Rose stood awkwardly nearby. After a few moments, Al started to speak.

"Rose... When Ed and I were little, our mother died. We were just trying to bring her back... But what we made... wasn't even human. People don't come back from the dead. Not ever..."

Rose gasped softly. Lyndah let out a sigh.

"I lost my body and Ed lost his leg. He bonded my soul to this suit of armour just to bring me back. He lost his arm just doing so..." Al trailed off.

Rose came back into focus. She was unwilling to believe what was happening.

"Well just because you failed doesn't mean that Father Cornello will!" Her voice trembled as tears formed in her eyes.

Lyndah looked at her with pity. She honestly didn't know how to help the girl.

"Rose..." She began, but was cut off by the voices of Ed and Cornello that started to come out of the speaker.

Unbeknownst to Cornello, the entire conversation was being projected across the town for all to hear. At last, the words everyone needed to hear were finally spoken by Cornello.

"I plan to create a legion of holy warriors. Using this Philosopher's Stone, I will tear this country apart!"

Ed could be heard chuckling through the speaker.

"You mean-" Cornello cut himself off as he realised everyone in town had heard what he had said.

Lyndah and Al decided no more needed to be heard and they took down the speaker and unplugged it. Crashes and rumbles could be heard coming from inside of the building as Ed and Cornello began to fight.

"I hope Ed will be okay." Lyndah said with worry.

Al gently placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"Ed can handle himself. Don't worry."

Inside, Ed was now fighting a hulking Cornello, who had used the Philosopher's Stone to mutate his body to give him strength. The fight ended up with them crashing through several walls, until Ed spotted a large Leto statue. Using his alchemy, he made the arm of the Leto statue ball its fist and plummet it towards Cornello.

Al and Lyndah waited outside with Rose as the building fell silent. After several minutes, a slightly scathed Ed came walking out of the church.

"Did you get the stone?" Lyndah asked with excitement.

Ed shook his head.

"No, it broke. It was just a fake..."

Disappointment flooded Al and Lyndah's faces.

"Well that's a shame." Lyndah mumbled.

"What happened to Father Cornello?" Al asked.

"I told him to get out of here. Hopefully he doesn't show his face again." Ed said flatly.

A click came from behind Al and Lyndah and they turned around. Rose was now pointing the gun at the group.

"Give me the Philosopher's Stone!" She yelled.

"Rose, it was a fake. It broke after my fight with Cornello." Ed stated.

"You're lying! You're just keeping it for yourself!" Rose's voice began to crack with desperation.

Lyndah looked at her with sympathy. The woman had lost the man she loved and was given false hope. She wished that there was more that she could do for the woman. Lyndah bunched her hands into fists, fighting back the awful feeling in her stomach.

"People don't come back from the dead Rose. Not ever!" Ed yelled fighting back his own emotions.

Rose began to tremble uncontrollably before lowering the gun and collapsing into her knees. Tears started streaming from her eyes before she spoke.

"What am I supposed to do? Tell me what I'm supposed to do?!"

"I can't tell you that, Rose. You need to figure that out for yourself. Stand up and keep moving forward. You've got two good legs, so use them. You're strong enough to make your own path." Ed said softly before he started to walk away.

Al quickly followed him without a word. Lyndah looked to Rose with sad eyes before gently placing a hand on the woman's shoulder for a moment and leaving to follow her friends.

The sun was getting close to setting but the awful feeling still lingered within the group as they made their way to the edge of town. They were nearing the station when Lyndah suddenly stopped.

"Oh, I was going to get something before we left. I'll meet you guys down there!" She said turning around and heading back into town.

"Alright, try not to be too long!" Ed called back after her.

Lyndah might have had a less than pleasurable experience in this town, but she wasn't leaving before she got a souvenir. It took her a few minutes to find a place that was still open and she ended up leaving with her own carved wooden figurine of Leto. She tucked it into her bag and started heading back towards the station. She ran between buildings trying to take the quickest route, but when she went to turn a corner at one of the buildings, she accidentally crashed into someone. The impact sent Lyndah falling to the ground.

"Oww! Sorry..." She mumbled.

"You should watch where you're going!" A husky voice stated angrily.

Lyndah looked up at the violet eyes staring down at her. The oddly clothed male was giving her a scowl and his arms were crossed. She looked at the ground ashamed.

"I'm so sorry, sir."

Envy looked at the moping girl.

 _Pathetic._ He thought to himself. He knew who she was, though he never thought he would see her here. Even worse, he was undisguised. How could he have been so careless to think he wouldn't need one yet? Frustration and annoyance boiled within him until he looked back at the girl. Her sad expression upset his stomach and he wasn't having any of that. Reluctantly, he held out a hand to help her up. Lyndah looked up at the hand. Hesitantly, she took it and he hoisted her up with ease.

"Um, thank you." She said blushing.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. Just... be more careful."

Lyndah fidgeted nervously then held out her hand in greeting.

"I'm Lyndah. I'm sorry again for running into you. I really should be more careful..." She looked off to the side, feeling embarassed .

Envy didn't respond. He merely looked at her for a moment before turning his gaze away. Lyndah blushed and lowered her hand, feeling incredibly awkward. Envy sensed her discomfort and it only annoyed him even more.

"Envy..." He said, still looking away.

Lyndah's gaze sprung up in confusion.

"Huh?"

Envy's brow twitched in frustration at having to repeat himself, but he kept his composure as best as he could.

"My name, it's Envy." He turned slightly to look at her.

Lyndah's face lit up and she smiled at him. Envy's chest made a slight internal shudder and for some reason, it made the tension in his muscles lessen.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I hope you'll forgive me for my clumsiness." She bowed her head.

 _What a weirdo._ Envy thought to himself. If he had been any of the other homunculi, then she would probably be dead already. She really needed to stop being so nice. It was sickening and would probably get her killed. But why should he care? He couldn't quite figure out why the thought of her dying made him feel just as sick as humans did in general. Until he could figure it out, he decided it wouldn't hurt to play nice.

"Yeah, if you don't pay more attention, you're going to get yourself killed." He smiled with slight mock.

Lyndah laughed awkwardly. That's when she started noticing his Aura. It seemed awfully familiar. It was like Vincent's.

 _That's weird..._ She thought as she sifted through the Aura's within the Aura. They were all in some kind of despair. It was kind of horrifying, but she tried to ignore it. It didn't take her long to find the one Aura that wasn't like the rest. It was sad and lonely, while shrouded in anger and loathing. She figured this must be the real Aura. But why did he have so many others in here?

Lyndah would have thought about it more, but she remembered she was in a hurry.

"I'm sorry for cutting this short, but people are waiting for me at the station. I hope we meet again, Envy." She said smiling and waving as she swiftly walked passed him.

Envy smirked without turning around.

"I'll make sure of it."

Lyndah didn't take notice of his muttered words and kept going, making it to the station in a few minutes. Ed and Al waved when they saw her.

"You took you're sweet time." Ed mocked.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She laughed nervously.

The three of them boarded the next train back to Central. A little ways down the platform, a hooded figure watched them leave, violet eyes gleaming.

As Lyndah watched the landscape fly by the window, she thought back to her encounter with Envy. Despite his attitude, he seemed okay. He was definitely an odd one, but it made him interesting. She thought about the lonely Aura. He certainly didn't show it on the outside. That's when it struck her. The figure from the dream had the same Aura.

 _Damn it Lyndah! Why didn't you realise that then?_ She leaned against the window in defeat. Hopefully she would see him again.

 **Special Bonus Note from Dusksgirl: Sorry if following the original story like that was a bit boring, but I felt I couldn't avoid going into it like I did without it being choppy. Next chapter Lyndah gets sent somewhere on her own. What for? What will happen? You'll just have to wait and see :P**


	4. Mustang's Secret Mission

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or its characters. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out! :P**

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for taking so long to post! Just been dealing with a lot lately, plus, this is longer than the other chapters. I actually cut it short just to get it out. The next part will get its own chapter instead. It won't always be like this, I swear! As usual, thank you so much for your reviews and follows. You have no idea how much it means to me 3**

 **I had a suggestion given to me for the storyline that will be coming very soon. I have decided it's a great idea and I'm going to go with it!**

 **I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I think it turned out pretty good :)**

After arriving back in Central, Lyndah and the Elric brothers parted ways. Ed and Al went to report to Colonel Roy Mustang before he returned to East City and Lyndah went back to her apartment. She was sure there would be a lot of paperwork waiting for her.

Once she walked in, she checked the mail slot. Sure enough, it was overflowing with handwritten notes for reports. Lyndah let out a sigh and gathered them up before closing the door. After settling back into her apartment and making herself some food, she started to get her work done.

A couple of hours later, she heard a knock on her door. Getting up from the typewriter, she slowly shuffled towards the door. When she opened it, she came face to face with the Colonel.

"Hello, Lyndah. May I come in?" He smiled.

Lyndah smiled back at him.

"Of course, Roy. Come right in."

Lyndah stepped back and held the door open as the Colonel walked inside. He paused for a moment taking in the apartment as Lyndah closed the door behind him. She gestured for him to take a seat on one of the couches and he did so, with Lyndah sitting on the one across from him.

"Can I get you anything?" Lyndah asked.

Roy shook his head and smiled.

"That won't be necessary. I only came to ask something of you before I head back to East City."

Lyndah looked thoughtful. What could he possibly want from her?

"What is it, Roy?"

Roy's expression became stern.

"Lyndah, this morning before your arrival back in the city, an informant of mine alerted me of rumours that there are riots beginning to break out in Liore. I need to know if this is true. Something my informant told me sounded... off. So I don't want to send anyone from the military. You can go unnoticed. All I want is for you to return to Liore and assess the situation. Then take a train to East City and report back to me about it there."

Lyndah fidgeted in contemplation. It was a big thing for her to travel on her own, but it sounded important. After a few moments, she looked back to Roy.

"Alright, I'll do it. Did you want me to leave right away?"

"Yes, as soon as you're packed. Don't tell anyone where you are going or why. I'll have someone stationed at East City station to await your arrival. Thank you for doing this for me, Lyndah. Please be careful as well."

Lyndah nodded and Roy stood to leave. After he walked out of the door, Lyndah let out a sigh. This was a big thing for her. A feeling bubbled in her stomach, a mixture of both excitement and nervousness. She got up and started packing for the journey ahead. She packed some premade food, a change of clothes and her usual useful bits she always carried around just in case. She picked up what she had done of her work to deliver before she left and exited the apartment.

When Lyndah arrived back at Liore, she could already hear shouting and smell burning buildings. It was evening. The sky was still lit with a violent red glow. As she stepped out of the station, she could see embers floating into the air. As she ventured into the city, a stench found her nose. It was the foul smell of blood and decaying bodies. The contents of her stomach nearly lurched onto the pavement, but she managed to keep it in. At a brisk pace, she began to dart through the small alleyways, keeping to areas with less people. Every now and then, she avoided a mangled body or a burning piece of building.

There were definitely riots here. There was no doubt. When she peered around corners to view the main streets, she could see groups of people fighting violently. She would never look long, as the view sickened her. She wished there was more that she could do, but she had orders to stay hidden. She decided to visit the church to see if there was any kind of authority now that Cornello had left. When she was about halfway there, she could hear soft crying. Lyndah stopped and began to follow the sound. She turned a corner and saw a small girl holding a plush rabbit, her head in her hands.

Lyndah bent down to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. The child looked up at her. Her eyes were red and watery. Her face was streaked from where her tears had run through the grime on her skin. Lyndah gave the girl a comforting smile.

"Are you lost, sweetie?"

The little girl nodded through sobs and wiped at her eyes.

"Can you tell me what your house looks like?" Lyndah asked in a gentle voice.

The little girl sniffed loudly as she tried to remember her house.

"It's... It's the one with the flowers on the windows!"

Lyndah thought for a moment. She remembered a house like that on her way here. She figured it was worth a try. She held out her hands to the girl.

"Can I help you find it? I think I saw it on my way here."

The little girl hesitated for a moment, before nodding and reaching out to Lyndah. Lyndah picked up the girl and started off in the direction the house was. A short time later, they arrived at the house where a frantic couple were calling out a name.

"Momma! Dadda!" The little girl called from Lyndah's arms, while reaching out to the couple.

The couple turned and their eyes widened, relieved smiles spreading over their faces.

"Meredith!" They called out in unison.

Lyndah placed the flailing girl onto the ground where she could run to her parents. Lyndah watched for a moment as they shared a happy embrace before silently slipping away. She was supposed to be staying unnoticed. There was no time for thanks.

She continued her journey towards the church. As she got nearer, the sound of shouting intensified. She peered around a corner to get a better look and what she saw astounded her. Father Cornello was standing atop the steps yelling to the crowd to stand up for Leto by using violence against those who oppose their ways. The crowd was yelling aggressively in agreement. But some others were arguing that Cornello was deceitful. Suddenly more fighting broke out and Lyndah saw it as her time to retreat.

She decided to go around the back of the church and see if there was another entrance. When she got to the back of the church, she noticed the street was deserted. A small wooden door was located on a large bare wall of the rear of the church. Quietly she approached it and concentrated on the space behind it. She couldn't feel any Aura behind it, so she tested the door carefully to see if it was unlocked. She let out a small sigh of relief when it opened and she swiftly darted inside and closed the door.

It was dark inside the part of the building she was in. Light crept in from a small door across the room to her left. Ahead of her was a staircase that appeared to wind further up. Around the room were several crates and barrels. Lyndah thought is may have been some kind of storage area.

A moment passed before she heard voices coming from beyond the door. Darting quietly behind some crates, she listened and waited to see where the voices went. The door near the end of the stairs opened and two men walked in. The second held a lit wooden torch in his hand.

"You need not worry about it, Finley. Now, if you'll excuse me." Came the voice of Father Cornello.

Lyndah peaked out from between the crates and watched Cornello walk up the stairs, the other man, Finley, watching him go. After Cornello had disappeared up the spiral staircase, Finley hung the torch up in a holder on the wall and silently crept after Cornello. Lyndah waited until Finley was a good distance before doing the same, taking each step slowly as she tried not to make a sound.

As Lyndah neared the top of the stairs, she saw that there was a dimly lit area where more crates were stored. The light was coming from a slightly ajar door, which Finley was peeking through. Lyndah ducked behind one of the boxes and watched with interest. She could make out faint voices coming from the other side of the door. From what she could hear, there were three voices; the voice of Father Cornello, a woman and a childish sounding voice of another male. She could only make out a few of the words they were saying. They seemed to be talking about the military. Lyndah strained to hear exactly what was being said, when a red glow filled the area she was in from the room behind the door.

"You're not Father Cornello! Where is the real Father Cornello, you monster?!" Shrieked Finley.

"Gluttony, take care of the intruder." Lyndah heard the woman say.

Lyndah backed herself behind the crate as she heard Finley let out a sickening scream. Her heart beat violently against her chest as she struggled to keep her quickening breath silent. The man had gone silent and was replaced by the sound of something being consumed. Lyndah felt queasy. The realisation that Finley was dead finally hit when a trickle of blood seeped slowly across the floor near her. She froze in terror until she heard what was likely Finley's body being dragged into the room. Ensuring there were no longer any Auras within the room with her, she began lifting herself in preparation for an escape.

The talking from the next room suddenly went silent just as she was about to stand and she could hear loud sniffing as if a huge hound were tracking a scent.

"I smell a girl." The childish voice piped up.

Lyndah's eyes widened.

"I'll go check it out." A husky voice replied casually.

Lyndah went to make a run for it, but only made it two steps before tripping on an uneven stone in the floor and falling onto her hands. That's when she felt the presence above her. She had been seen. She was done for. This was it. She scrunched her eyes, bracing herself for the pain she was probably about to feel. Instead, a hand grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her to her feet. She looked up at the figure holding her by the arm. It was Envy. He was looking at her with wide, terrified eyes. Without warning, he pushed her into the corner next to the stairwell.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" His voice was a harsh whisper.

Lyndah looked at him blankly.

"Ugh... Nevermind. Just get out of here!" He turned her towards the stairs.

Lyndah planted her feet firmly before the first step and turned to Envy, suspicion evident in her furrowed brows.

"Envy, what's going on?"

A look of annoyance bunched up on Envy's face for a moment. This girl sure was stubborn. He thought for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.

"Fine! Just... wait for me outside. Don't let anyone see you!"

Lyndah's features softened and she nodded before turning down the stairs. Envy slumped his shoulders in relief. Turning, he placed his hands on his hips and went back to the room.

"There's nobody out here! Gluttony, you are such a pain!"

Lyndah made her way down the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could. She paused for a moment near the bottom of the stairs to check for Auras and when she found none, she darted back to the door she had used to get in. Once outside, she looked around to see if there was anywhere nearby she could hide herself. She spotted some large bins in an adjacent alley and ran straight for it. Hiding between two of the large bins she pulled some old damaged boxes around her to make a fort, leaving a small gap in one side so she could keep an eye out for Envy.

It was getting dark outside. Lyndah shivered and pulled her jacket tight around herself. She hoped that Envy would appear soon before she caught a cold.

Several minutes went by before she heard a door closing. Looking back at the church door, she saw Envy looking around. Lyndah stood from her hiding place to let him know where she was. Envy smirked when he saw her, then strode towards her.

"There you are. I thought you'd run off on me" He said, placing one hand on his hip when he stopped in front of her.

Lyndah pushed the boxes away and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"What's going on Envy?" Her face showed both anger and concern.

Lyndah knew he was the reason she was in Amestris. But was he really a bad person? She was afraid that he was and what it would mean for her. How would it affect the road ahead? The thoughts kept racing through her mind as Envy stared down at her, his smirk replaced with a look of sheer annoyance.

Lyndah sure was a stubborn girl. This pissed Envy off to no end. But still he found his anger easier to hold back with her. It was as if his own mind was holding his body back from lashing out. The thought of hurting her just didn't seem to please him. But what was he to do? Should he tell her the truth? She hung out with the pipsqueak, so would telling her compromise everything? Whatever he was to do, he knew standing in the street could have him discovered.

Envy grabbed onto Lyndah's arm and started guiding her through the streets. Lyndah looked surprised and stumbled after him.

"Envy, where are we going?"

"Somewhere where no one will see us." Envy replied without looking at her.

Lyndah kept quiet as he lead her through the empty streets and alleys. This part of the town seemed deserted. They stopped in front of a shabby looking house. Envy opened the door and gently pushed Lyndah inside. He quickly glanced around the empty street before going in and closing the door behind him. After locking the door, he grabbed for a lantern on a small cabinet next to the door and switched it on.

Lyndah looked around the room. They were in a lounge room. Several cabinets and bookcases lined the walls. Atop them were photographs coated in dust and several lay face down as if they had been knocked over at some stage. The paint on the walls was faded and stained from moisture and cobwebs were built among many of the rooms crevices. The house appeared long abandoned, except for the sofa and armchair which were void of dust as if someone had been using them recently.

Envy gestured for her to take a seat. Hesitantly, she shuffled over to the armchair and sat herself down. Envy sat on the sofa which creaked loudly as he did. They were silent for some time. Lyndah fidgeted nervously, while Envy sat still with his arms crossed, staring into nothing straight ahead.

After giving up on worming his way out of this, Envy decided to speak.

"Lyndah..."

Lyndah's head shot up in surprise. She had gotten so lost in the silence that his voice sounded much louder than usual.

"If I tell you what I am about to say, will you keep it between us?" His look was serious.

Lyndah nodded her head.

"Good, because I'd hate to have to kill you." He chuckled.

Lyndah gulped quietly. Her heart was starting to pound in her chest. She was afraid and wanted to run. But she knew she had to stay no matter what he told her. The dream had told her he was why she was here. She was starting to wish she had never had that dream.

Envy thought for a moment. How was he going to tell her? He honestly didn't want to come across the wrong way. He felt... scared? Why was he scared? He was a homunculus! Why would he be scared about what a human thinks of him? Did he seriously care about this human? Disgusting! Something is definitely wrong with him.

Envy fought and fought with his own mind. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of the warm feeling her sapphire gaze gave him. No words came to mind that would help him, so he decided to break the ice by just showing her. Perhaps going with a more familiar form might be more comforting for her.

Lyndah watched with wide eyes as red light crackled around Envy's body like tiny bolts of lightning. His body began to morph until the person before her was no longer Envy. It was Vincent Canter. Lyndah's mouth was agape in both awe and fright.

"That... That explains the Aura." She stuttered.

Envy looked at her in confusion.

"Aura?" He asked, keeping his own voice.

"I'm an Aura Alchemist. I sense Aura. I knew ever since I met Vincent that there was something different about him. It was you the whole time, wasn't it?"

Envy nodded his head and smirked.

"So what are you? You're human but you're also not. There are other people in there. I can feel them. Who are they and how did they get in there?"

Envy's brow twitched.

"Gee, you ask a lot of questions! Typical human..." He fought back his anger and recomposed himself. "I'm a homunculus. Those people you feel, they died in Xerxes. Father put them in my Philosopher's Stone when he created me. They're as you could put it, my life force."

Lyndah was astounded. She had read about Homunculi in some of the books from the library she had read during her short time in Amestris. But according to those sources, Homunuli didn't exist. They were merely a myth. Not only that, but he had just mentioned a Philosopher's Stone, the very thing Ed and Al had been searching for as a way to bring back their bodies.

"I thought Homunculi couldn't exist?" She asked quizzically.

Envy crossed his arms again and pouted as if he had been offended.

"You saying I don't exist?"

"N-No... Not at all..." She suddenly felt awkward. "So... You said you had a Philosopher's Stone?"

Envy glowed again and regained his regular form.

"Yup. It works like a heart. Like I said, it's where my life force is." He leaned back with his hands behind his head.

Lyndah pondered it all for a moment. So the Aura with many in it was that of a Homunculus... That was when she remembered the first time she had ever felt that kind of Aura.

"So... does that mean that Fuhrer Bradley is a Homunculus too?" She asked quietly.

Envy's eyes widened. She wasn't supposed to figure that out. She was too smart for her own good. It's like he couldn't hide anything. This was just getting worse for him.

"I'm not going into that. It's not like you need me to." The frustration in his voice was imminent.

Lyndah looked down awkwardly. She figured it might be best to drop that subject. She didn't really want to cause too much trouble.

"So, Vincent Canter... Does he really exist or is it just you?" She looked back up to face him.

Envy's slight scowl turned back into his regular smirk and he pointed his thumb towards his chest, winking.

"I see..." She trailed off.

She had been putting of the question she had been afraid to ask the most.

"Envy..." Her voice was soft with worry.

Envy noticed the change of tone in her voice and his eyes turned serious.

"What were you doing in that church?" She looked him right in the eyes, her brows furrowed in concern.

Envy stared at her for a long moment before sighing.

"Something that you won't like."

Envy watched the corners of Lyndah's lips twitch downwards slightly and she looked down.

"You're going to be the enemy, aren't you?" She mumbled sadly.

"I can't say that I am not already." Envy watched the look of utter disappointment on Lyndah's features. It made his stomach churn. He let out another frustrated sigh. "Look, would it make you feel better if I promise that nothing will happen to _you_?"

"I... guess..." Lyndah replied a little unsure.

Envy crossed his arms, closing his eyes.

"If you're afraid of me, I get it. You don't have to be around me if you don't want to. I'll just disappear." Envy said.

Although he was trying to keep his cool, Lyndah heard the sadness in his voice. He clearly wanted to be around her. Why, she didn't know. But he had always been nice to her this far, particularly while disguised as Vincent. As frightening as the truth made him out to be, his Aura seemed to be pulling her back in. That sad, little green figure that lay deep within his soul. She should at least give him a chance. He was in her dream after all.

"No. I don't mind if you want to hang out and stuff..." She fidgeted nervously.

Envy looked at her with astonishment. He had expected her to reject him. To turn him away in disgust like everyone else. But she didn't.

She gave him a kind smile. It struck him through his entire being and he suddenly felt safe for the first time in his existence. The edges of his mouth lifted and he stood.

"You should probably leave in the morning. It's too dangerous to be out there at this time right now."

He walked out of the room momentarily and returned holding a blanket. Taking his advice, Lyndah moved over to the sofa. She took the blanket from Envy and thanked him, before spreading it out over her legs. She pulled up her bag and took out a container with some pastries she had made for the journey. Envy sat down in the armchair and watched her intently as she took a bite out of one of the pastries. Lyndah noticed him staring and held one of the pastries out to him.

"Would you like one?"

"I don't need to eat you know." Envy scoffed.

Lyndah frowned and began retreating her arm, but Envy snatched the pastry from her. She looked at him with a raised brow.

"I thought you said you didn't need to eat?"

"I said I didn't need to. I can eat if I want to." He huffed, taking a bite from the pastry.

Lyndah watched as he chewed. She held her breath slightly in suspense waiting to hear what he thought of her cooking. Envy paused after swallowing the first bite, before scoffing the rest down.

"I take it you like it then? I made these." Lyndah smiled.

"They're okay." Envy said holding his hand out for another one.

Lyndah lay curled up on the sofa sleeping, Envy was watching her from the armchair, his head leaning lazily on his hand. He had no need to sleep. But as he watched her, looking so comfortable and peaceful, he almost felt like closing his eyes as well. No. He wasn't going to fold to such pathetic human actions. Instead, he spent the whole night watching her while she slept, keeping her safe.

The next morning, they took the less populated areas to the station. Envy had taken on Vincent's appearance but in casual clothing as to remain inconspicuous. Once the train had arrived, Lyndah turned to Envy.

"Thank you for giving me a safe place to rest overnight Envy. I really appreciate it. I hope we will run into each other again soon." She smiled.

"I'm coming with you, moron." Envy said pushing past her.

"You... are?" Lyndah stumbled trying to catch up.

"Yeah, I have some business in East City to attend to."

"Oh..." Lyndah trailed off thoughtfully.

They spend the journey in silence. Lyndah stared out at the passing scenery and Envy did the same, occasionally glancing in Lyndah's direction. Envy could have sworn his face felt hotter, but that was impossible.

When the train pulled into East City, Envy spotted who was waiting for Lyndah right away as he was towering over the rest of the crowd. Armstrong was wondering aimlessly around the platform. Envy shrunk back.

"Looks like you'll be exiting on your own. I'll see you later." Envy nodded for Lyndah to head out.

She smiled and gave a small nod in return and headed out to greet Armstrong.

"Lyndah! I'm so glad you've arrived safe. I was beginning to worry."

"I take it you were waiting here for me?" Lyndah asked.

"Yes. We should head to Colonel Mustang's office immediately."

Once at Mustang's office, Lyndah relayed what she had seen in Liore, excluding the part about Envy. Roy tensed his features.

"It's just as suspected. Thank you for doing this, Lyndah. I'm sorry you had to witness it."

Armstrong's eyes were watering.

"It's so horrible that someone like you had to experience such a sight. Here..." He suddenly ripped off his jacket to expose his bare chest and embraced Lyndah, lifting her from the ground. "You need the comfort of a healthy specimen to calm your nerves!"

"Ahhh!" Lyndah tried to scream through the muscle that was smothering her.

"This is the key to your room, Lyndah. The Elric brothers are across the hall. They should be at Shou Tucker's house at the moment though. Armstrong will show you the way to your room." Roy said.

Armstrong put Lyndah down and put his jacket back on. The still dazed Lyndah teetered over to the key on the desk and picked it up.

"Thanks Roy." She croaked before swaying out of the room.

After saying goodbye to Armstrong at her door, Lyndah went in and collapsed onto her bed. She felt so drained from her trip that she decided to wait until tomorrow to see the Elrics.


	5. Fateful Encounters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or it's characters, plotline, quoted speech lines etc, only the stuff I added and altered.**

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for another long wait! I have been having a lot of personal issues at the moment and it had been really affecting my depression and anxiety. I apologise for this. But I am here and I will most definately NOT be abandoning my story until it is finished. Thank you everyone for sticking with me and I hope I continue to make you happy. Thank you to everyone who favourited this story. You have no idea how much it means to me 3**

 **Special thanks to Acrone for helping me decide on a part of this chapter I was stuck on ^-^**

After Lyndah awoke the next morning and got ready to leave, she decided to go across the hall and visit the Elric brothers. Several moments after knocking on their door, she figured they must have left for Shou Tucker's already. With nothing else to do, she decided to head outside for a stroll.

Once she finally found her way out of the main entrance, she noticed several people walking up the main pathway. Ed and Al were walking with Roy, Riza, Alex Armstrong and several other military men. Accompanying them was a weary, beaten up man in handcuffs and an odd looking canine. Everyone in the group had an air of sorrow. Lyndah approached them, highly concerned.

"What's going on?" She asked looking towards Ed and Roy for answers.

Ed stayed silent, while Roy let out a long sigh and motioned for the other men to take the cuffed man inside. Small droplets of rain began to fall around them, only adding to the heavy atmosphere.

"Tucker fused his daughter and the family dog into a chimera. What you see here... is the result." His gazed remained fixed on the floor as he motioned to the canine.

Ed began trembling as tears rolled down his cheeks. Lyndah stood wide eyed and speechless.

"Come on, let's get inside before it rains." Riza suggested.

They headed inside and entered Roy's office. Lyndah crouched down to look at the chimera.

"Hello, Nina." Lyndah smiled sweetly. "My name is Lyndah."

The chimera stared at Lyndah with blank eyes.

"Your name... Lyndah." It spoke in a strained voice.

The others in the room were discussing what to do with the chimera. Lyndah thought about the possibilities of separating fused organisms. Perhaps there was a way to separate them using Aura Alchemy? She would have to send her parents a letter to look into it for her.

"Hey, Roy." Lyndah spoke up. Everyone went quiet and turned to her. "I think there could be a way to separate them using Aura Alchemy. If you would get someone to take care of them while I send a letter to my parents, they might be able to find some information for me."

Mustang looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, there is no known way in Amestris to separate creatures that have been made into a chimera, so at the moment, that would be our only option."

Alex Armstrong stepped forward.

"Colonel, I would be more than happy to take care of Nina until you can find her a permanent home."

Lyndah smiled. Roy nodded his head in agreement.

"Very well."

After Alex left with Nina, Lyndah turned to Ed and Al who had been standing silently against the wall the entire time. Lyndah gently put a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"Hey, it'll be okay."

Before Ed could respond, three men burst into the room.

"Colonel Mustang!" One of the men shouted desparately.

Mustang looked to the men with great concern.

"What is it?"

"Someone snuck into the building and murdered Shou Tucker. They took out several men in the process." The man said, saluting Roy with a shaky hand.

Lyndah, Ed and Al stood in shock as everyone else exited the room. How could someone have gone through without them noticing? Lyndah pondered it until she noticed Ed leaving.

"Nina will be safe with Armstrong. I need some air..."

Lyndah and Al followed Ed outside. It was pouring with rain, but Ed didn't seem to notice. He sat down on the steps and Al and Lyndah sat themselves on either side of him. Lyndah could feel how sad Ed was. A shadow was cast around his Aura like it was sinking into the coldest oceans. She gently held onto his hand and they all sat there quietly for some time.

"It'll be okay, Ed. We will find a way to help her." Lyndah gave Ed a small smile.

She watched as a droplet that had not fallen from the sky made its way down his cheek until it joined the water on his chin from his dripping hair.

"I don't understand. She was his daughter. A little girl. How could he do this?" Ed pleaded.

"I... I don't know..." Lyndah's face fell.

"At least she will be in good hands now, brother." Al pointed out. The sorrow was still evident in his voice.

Before another word could be spoken, a voice came from behind them.

"You, boy, you are the Fullmetal Alchemist, am I correct?"

"Yeah..." Ed muttered without turning around.

Lyndah sensed the incoming blow before it got them. Quickly she pulled Ed out of the way just as the man behind them made the steps they were just sitting upon explode with a single touch of his hand.

"Brother!" Al shouted in fright.

"Let's get out of here!" Yelled Lyndah.

The trio ran as fast as they could.

"What the hell's going on here?!" Ed yelled in confusion.

They arrived at a flight of steps that made its way down the edge of the building and headed down as fast as they could. They had only made it part of the way down when the strange man jumped off of the building and landed on the steps ahead of them. A crackling sound fired around the man's arm and he thrust it towards the steps. The steps beneath Lyndah and the Elrics cracked and gave way. They all let out a scream as they began to fall. Lyndah reached her arm out to the metallic Aura beside her and grabbed onto Al's leg. Al had managed to grab onto one of the steps that were behind them and had grabbed onto Ed as well.

"Are you guys okay?" Lyndah asked.

But before the boys could answer her, the step Al was holding broke and they started plummeting towards the ground. Ed quickly clapped his hands together and made a huge pillar of earth come up to meet them and break their fall. Ed kept his hand placed on the pillar and it moved them down the street. But the man chasing them managed to destroy the pillar as well and they fell towards the street below.

Lyndah concentrated a blast of her Aura towards the ground, solidifying it into a squishy blob. The trio bounced gently off of the Aura blob and back onto their feet in the street.

"Thanks Lyndah!" Ed said as they dashed away through the street, the Aura blob dispersing behind them.

Another explosion happened close behind them.

"Damn it! What the hell is this guy's problem? Making enemies isn't something that I... Well... I never really avoided it. But there's no reason someone should be trying to kill me!" Ed exclaimed.

They rounded a corner into an alley when the wall of the building next to them exploded in front of them, sending a pile of rubble into the alley and blocking their path.

Ahead of them stood the mysterious man, his hand at the ready. He was tall with white hair and tanned skin. He was wearing a trench coat and sunglasses as if he was concealing himself. Above his glasses, a cross-shaped scar cut across his entire forehead. Ed clenched his fists.

"Who are you anyway? Why are you after us?" He yelled at the man.

"As long as there are creators like you in the world, there must also be destroyers." Was all the man replied with.

Ed tightened his jaw.

"It looks like we are going to have to fight."

Ed clapped his hands together and transmuted a scimitar from the ground below him. Lyndah and Al readied their stances for a fight.

"Gutsy one, aren't you?" The man said lifting his arms at the ready, a small smile appearing in his features.

Ed then turned to Lyndah.

"Lyndah! You stay back."

Lyndah lowered her arms and pouted slightly in annoyance and watched as Ed and Al charged at the man.

"Too slow!" The man said as he dodged the brother's attacks.

The man then brought his right arm around and touched Al's side. In an instant, the side of Al's torso exploded, sending him to the ground.

"Al!" Ed and Lyndah screamed in unison.

The man looked at Al's empty body in shock. But before he could comprehend the situation, Ed was already lunging at him again. Unfortunately the man was faster than Ed and grabbed onto his arm.

"You're too slow." He said again and sent a surge of power into Ed's automail.

Ed went sprawling backwards. Lyndah looked in fear for her friends. Enough was enough. She couldn't stand back and watch any longer. She rushed forward, hardening some of her Aura into a shining purple sword. She swung it at the man who dodged and aimed his hand at the flat of the blade. The energy from his arm that followed travelled through the blade, cracking it until it shattered. Lyndah jumped back quickly and conjured a large sphere of purple Aura and threw it towards the man. He readied himself to dodge it, but was caught off guard when the orb exploded into 50 small orbs before impact. He put his arms up as the fiery orbs beat at his skin and jacket like hot metal. In that instant Lyndah went in for another strike, this time her Aura hardened around her fingers like large claws. But again, she was too slow. The man swung the side of his arm at her, hitting her in the stomach and sending her flying towards the adjacent wall. She slammed against the wall, hitting her head with the impact before dropping to the ground into a motionless heap.

Lyndah's head was spinning. The sounds she was hearing were muffled and her vision was blurry. She couldn't move and her body was in so much pain. She thought she could make out Ed fighting the man again, but he was knocked down. Someone was screaming. Was it Al? She couldn't tell what they were saying. She tried to call out, but she couldn't move her mouth to speak as her consciousness faded in and out.

Her vision finally started clearing and she saw the man towering over Ed who was on the ground with his automail in pieces.

"Don't touch him!" She heard Al yell.

Lyndah saw the man reaching his arm toward Ed and she tried to move. She couldn't let Ed die. He was her best friend. As she was about to call out, a gun fired from the main street and barely missed the attacking man. Lyndah weekly turned her head and saw Roy Mustang with his gun pointed at the man.

"You won't be killing anyone else today, Scar. I'm taking you into custody." Roy announced.

He handed the gun to Riza and approached the man called Scar. Scar wasn't having any of it. He charged at Roy. Roy smirked and snapped his fingers to use his Flame Alchemy. But all that came out was a small puff of smoke due to the rain that was still pelting down. Riza then cut in and started shooting at Scar, who dodged to avoid the bullets.

"You know as well as I do that you're useless on rainy days." She deadpanned.

Roy pouted, feeling hurt. But Riza paid him no mind.

"Lyndah!" A voice called out from the crowd of soldiers.

Vincent Canter burst through the other men and ran straight towards Lyndah. Alex Armstrong stepped in between Roy and Scar to draw back the attention to the matter at hand. Off to the side, Envy leant over Lyndah, gently scooping her up into a sitting position.

"Lyndah, are you okay?" He said softly in his own voice, worry clear in his eyes.

He looked her over. She had a head injury and a small stream of blood trickling slowly through her hair getting mixed with the rain and a few scrapes, but that was all that he could see. Lyndah nodded her head at him.

"I'll be okay, Envy." She whispered.

Envy smiled at hearing her use his real name. She gave a very weak smile back and then turned her attention back to the fight. Armstrong was firing spearhead shaped boulders at Scar. Scar was defending himself through every blow with ease. He truly was a skilled fighter.

Lyndah looked beyond the fight and saw Jean Havok tending to Ed.

"Ed..." Lyndah said weakly.

Envy looked to where the boys were.

"We can go and see the pipsqueak in a minute, but first you're getting out of here." He instructed.

He hoisted her up in his arms and dashed her away from the fray. She leaned into his shoulder now feeling completely safe in his embrace.

Armstrong, now once again shirtless, was still sending attacks at Scar with little success. Finally seeing an opening in the way Scar attacked, he feigned his own attack which threw Scar off. Riza took the slight lack of concentration Alex had managed to bring about as an opportunity to get a clear shot at Scar. She fired and it skimmed across the side of Scar's head, knocking off his sunglasses and revealing his red irises.

"An Ishvalan!" Roy exclaimed in surprise.

Now it was beginning to make sense. It wasn't uncommon for an Ishvalan to have a grudge against any Amestrian, particularly the State Alchemists he had been slaying.

Scar, realising he was cornered, planted his palm onto the ground and created an explosion, escaping into the sewers beneath the street.

Ed, seeing that the danger was gone, dashed over to where Al was laying with his back against a wall. Envy also carried Lyndah over to the boys and sat her down nearby.

"Al! Are you alright?" Ed asked, worried.

Al suddenly swung his arm and punched Ed square in the face. Lyndah and Envy looked at them in pure confusion.

"Why didn't you take Lyndah and run away when I told you to? What kind of idiot are you?!" Al yelled at Ed.

"No way! I'm not just going to run away and leave you behind!" Ed retorted.

"This is exactly why you're an idiot!"

Envy leaned in a little closer to Lyndah.

"Is this normal?" He whispered to her.

"Sadly, yes." She sighed.

They watched as Al punched Ed again.

"What do you keep punching me like that for? If I had run away, you could have been killed. You know that?" Ed yelled.

"And maybe I wouldn't have been! Making the decision to die is something only an idiot does!" Al responded.

"Hey, easy on the idiot stuff! I'm still your older brother, you got it?!" Ed clenched his fist.

"I'll say it all I want to!" Al said, grabbing Ed by his shirt and pulling him closer. "Survival is the only way Ed. Live on, learn more about Alchemy. You can find a way to get our bodies back and help people like Nina. You can't do that by dying! I won't allow you to abandon the possibility of hope and choose a meaningless death."

Ed's face softened at his brother's words. Suddenly, the hand holding onto Ed's shirt broke free of Al's body and fell to the ground with a clank.

"Oh, great! And now my arm's come off because my brother's a big fat idiot!" Al screamed.

Lyndah tried to conceal her laughter. The boys really were ridiculous at times. Envy just looked at them with furrowed brows. He didn't see the amusing side of this at all - except maybe the pipsqueak getting punched in the face. He had to admit, that did lift the corner of his mouth slightly. Ed let out a sigh and looked down.

"We really are falling apart, aren't we, Al? We look like we belong in a junkyard." Ed chuckled softly.

"But we're alive." Al replied softly.

Ed then turned to Lyndah.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Lyndah."

"Same goes to you." Lyndah nodded.

After helping the injured trio out of the alley and tending to their open wounds, everyone except Al returned to Roy's office and he began telling them the story of Ishval. Ed, and Lyndah both sat there wide-eyed as they listened to how State Alchemists were ordered to exterminate the people of Ishval and they wiped out most of their people. They were told the war between the Amestrians and the Ishvalans started when an Amestrian soldier accidentally shot an Ishvalan child. Envy tensed ever so slightly when Roy mentioned this part of the story, but went unnoticed.

"So, in a sense, his revenge is justified." Roy finished.

Ed stood up from his seat, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"No way! It doesn't give him the right to get revenge on people who had nothing to do with it!"

"You are right, Edward. We cannot let ourselves be killed for his cause." Roy agreed.

Ed turned to leave. Lyndah stood with Envy's help to follow him out.

"Wait, Ed! What's the plan now?" She asked.

Ed turned to her.

"We keep moving. I think tomorrow we should leave to see Winry so Al and I can get fixed up. For now, I think you should rest, Lyndah."

"I agree." Alex Armstrong stepped up behind them. "I will come along and help you take your brother down there."

"Thanks that would be a big help." Ed smiled.

Alex then turned to Envy.

"Vincent, orders are that you are to come along as well. In their weakened states, they could use the extra body guard."

Envy nodded his head in understanding. Inside, his Philosopher's Stone did a little jump. Was he excited to be travelling with Lyndah? How strange.

"I'll take her down to her room so she can rest up. I'll see you all tomorrow." Envy soluted.

Lyndah waved to Ed and Alex and Envy helped her walk slowly to her room. They were silent until they were in the room, then Envy changed back into his regular self.

"The pipsqueak sure does whine a lot for a 'State Alchemist'." He said making quotations with his fingers.

Lyndah rolled her eyes and slowly made her way to the sink to pour herself a glass of water. She thought about the man they had fought. _Scar._ He really was a dangerous man, but she kind of felt sorry for him. His people had been slaughtered, possibly his family too. She had felt his anger and his hatred. Like a volcano close to eruption. If she hadn't been trying to run away from him, maybe she would have been able to feel what lay beneath that anger? She thought about it as she finished her glass of water.

She placed the glass on the sink and suddenly two arms lifted her and broke her from her thoughts.

"Get to bed already! You're supposed to rest!" Envy instructed slightly annoyed.

"Ow! Put me down, Envy! That hurts!" She cried.

Envy placed her on the bed and forced her shirt up to expose her stomach and lower ribs.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Lyndah squealed while blushing slightly.

On her stomach and ribs were vicious looking bruises. Lyndah looked down and saw them too and her eyes widened in shock. She hadn't realised the blow from Scar had done so much damage. Envy gently traced the bruises with his fingers, his face remaining emotionless. When he got to her ribs, he put slight pressure on some of them. Lyndah whimpered a little as he did so, until he got to one particular rib. Lyndah let out a strained gasp and tears leaked from her eyes as she retreated from Envy and clutched at her ribs.

"It's broken..." Envy whispered.

"I wouldn't... be surprised. That... hurt." Lyndah replied between short gasps for air.

Intense rage started to boil inside Envy. That man had hurt her. He could have _killed_ her. He began to tremble slightly and Lyndah looked at him with concern.

"Envy, are you okay?"

Envy couldn't hold back his anger any longer.

"How dare he hurt you! How dare he lay a hand on you! I swear, I will kill that man for what he has done to you!" He bellowed.

Envy sent his fist into the bedroom door, knocking it off of its hinges and it fell to the floor. Envy stood there panting in anger.

"Envy..." Lyndah spoke softly.

Envy turned around and looked at her. His face softened at her innocent look. He calmed down a little and picked up the door, wedging it back onto its hinges as best as it would go. He walked over to Lyndah and sat on the bed in front of her, making it creak loudly.

Lyndah placed a hand on his knee.

"I didn't realise you cared that much about me." She said softly.

Envy was silent for a moment, before making a small smirk.

"Don't go telling anyone. It'll ruin my image." He chuckled quietly.

Lyndah smiled softly at him. Envy got up to leave.

"Now get some rest, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning." He said standing at the door.

"See you tomorrow, Envy." Lyndah smiled warmly.

Envy exited the room before Lyndah could see the light pink that had suddenly shaded his cheeks.

Far in the north of Amestris, in the last town before the treacherous journey one would take to Fort Briggs, a woman sat alone in an inn drinking coffee. Her blonde hair was slightly windswept but did not falter her fierce appearance.

It wasn't like Olivier Armstrong to leave her post at Fort Briggs, but every now and again she enjoyed a coffee at the inn her family had stayed in one time when she was a child. It was this very inn that gave her an interest in the snowy, unforgiving terrain of the north. Not only that, but the men at Fort Briggs just didn't make coffee quite as good as it was made here.

As she was part way through her coffee and distracted by her thoughts, a man approached her table and pulled out a chair to sit down with her. Olivier snapped open her eyes at the stranger before her. She took in his relaxed form dressed in flashy attire that seemed inappropriate for their climate. He had short, spiked dark hair, his smile was crooked and he was wearing rounded sunglasses.

 _What idiot wears sunglasses in an inn?_ She thought to herself.

"Are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to tell me what you want?" She barked at him.

"Ohoho, we have a feisty one here. I like that." The man said, his smirk growing ever more pleased. "I was simply wondering what a fine woman like yourself is doing all the way out here?" He said with a hint of tease.

Olivier's brows twitched.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Her voice was slightly raised.

"No. But I sure would like to get to know you." He slid closer.

She pulled out her sword and pointed it at him to prevent him from getting closer. He didn't even flinch.

"You are speaking to Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong and I do not tolerate men like you." She almost growled as she spoke.

"Aww, I'm sorry. It's just I don't know anyone in town and you looked like a reasonable gal to talk to. No need to use swords on ol' Greed." Greed gently pushed the sword away from his face.

"Greed? What kind of name is that?" Olivier asked, slightly dropping her sword.

Greed paused for a moment before coming up with a response.

"My father likes names like that I guess." He shrugged.

"I see..." Olivier said before taking another sip of coffee.

"So you never answered my question, Olivier." Greed pressed.

"They make good coffee here." She said flatly.

Greed's face lit up slightly.

"Oho, I should try some then." He said getting up.

Greed returned a few minutes later with his own coffee. After taking a sip, he smiled dreamily.

"Oh, you're right, this _is_ good coffee!" He smiled.

The corners of Olivier's lips lifted ever so slightly before she continued sipping her drink. They were silent as they drank their beverages and when Olivier was finished with hers, she got up to leave.

"Thanks for the company, Greed." She said without turning around.

She had to admit, his company reminded her of the warmth she felt here as a child. But she was a hard woman and could not dwell in such tender feelings.

"Any time." Greed said waving. "Hope I can see your lovely face again sometime."

Olivier paused for just a brief moment – for what reason, even she did not know – before exiting the inn to make the journey back to Fort Briggs.

Greed turned back to his coffee and continued to sip it, a confident smile on his face.

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter ^^ I know I really liked writing it. Next chapter will be written as requested by one of my guest reviewers. Thank you for the idea whoever you are :D See you all next time!**


	6. Dr Marcoh

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, its characters, the lines I've directly quoted from it etc. I only own Lyndah and the stuff I clearly made up**

 **A/N: Hey everyone, I'm so incredibly sorry for my abscence. Life has gotten very stressful for me of late, so my mind hasn't been in the right headspace. Please forgive me ;_; This chapter and the next were originally meant to be one chapter, but I've decided to split them into two since it is taking forever to write and ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. This one has a lot in it from the original story, but I tried to add in the requests I got as best as they would fit with my original ideas. I read all of your reviews and do try to give you what you want. Some of you asked why your reviews weren't appearing and I honestly don't know why. I get them in my emails, but then they don't always appear for me on my account. But I appreciate every one of them, even the messages nagging me to hurry up and post :P Please know I will never abandon you**

 **Someone also asked me why I rated this M. Firstly, I have never rated anything in my life so I am extra cautious. Also, there are some 'suggestive themes' that I was planning for later chapters so I was playing it safe. Better safe than sorry, right?**

 **Next chapter will be out within the next few days as it is very near completion and was as I said, originally the other half of this one.**

 **Thanks for sticking with me x**

Lyndah awoke with a start at the sound of someone knocking on her apartment door. Feeling groggy from the fight the previous day and her body as stiff as Winry's favourite wrench, she groaned and put her pillow over her head to block out the sound. Several minutes passed and she started to think whoever it was had gone away, when suddenly her covers were torn from her. She quickly removed the pillow from her face to see Envy towering over her with an annoyed look on his face.

"How the hell did you even get in here?!" Lyndah shouted.

"It doesn't matter. Hurry up and get ready, or your friends will leave without you!"

Lyndah paused for a moment and remembered they were travelling to Risembool.

"Oh yeah..." Lyndah sat up slowly and winced at the pain in her diaphragm.

Envy rolled his eyes at her.

"Here." He said, holding out his hand.

She took it and he helped her stand.

"You're on your own for the rest." He said leaving the room.

Lyndah slowly finished getting ready and gathered her things to leave. Envy was waiting for her by the door already appearing as Vincent.

"About time." He said unfolding his arms and opening the door for her.

Just as they walked out, Ed was walking out of his room as well.

"Hey, Lyndah! You ready to go?" He asked.

"Mhm." Lyndah smiled.

"Great! Major Armstrong has already taken Al outside. Let's go." He said hurrying on ahead.

They met up with Alex outside and headed to the train station. Once they got there, a familiar face came to greet them.

"Everyone of West City couldn't make it out, so I came to see you off on their behalf." Said Maes Hughes.

Lyndah had met the man on numerous occasions while in Central. During her first days in Amestris, she was whisked away by him to meet his family and have dinner with them. She found him very forceful, but an absolutely wonderful human being and she considered him a friend. It got a little much when he insisted on talking about his daughter, but Lyndah didn't mind. She was just happy that people like Hughes accepted her.

"Oh, that's nice of you, Maes." Lyndah said cheerfully.

"Well it's always lovely to see you all." Hughes smiled in return.

After boarding the train and taking a seat, Ed turned to Alex.

"Hey Armstrong, where's Al?"

"I didn't want him getting lonely, so I put him with the livestock." Alex seemed triumphant.

"My brother isn't some kind of farm animal!" Ed yelled.

"Ed, calm down. I'm sure he is fine." Lyndah patted his arm then turned to Alex. "Alex, I'm not sure that was the best place to put Al. He could have been in here with us."

"Uh...uh...I guess so." Alex said uneasily rubbing the back of his head.

"Also, where is Nina? Is someone looking after her while you're away?" Lyndah asked with concern.

"Yes, I left her with Lieutenant Hawkeye while I am away." Alex replied.

Lyndah sighed in relief, then smiled at Hughes through the train window.

"Thank you for seeing us off, Maes."

"It was my pleasure. Stop in and say hello next time you're in Central." Hughes said waving.

"We definitely will." Lyndah smiled.

They all waved to Hughes as the train started to leave.

The train ride was long. Lyndah spent a lot of time staring out of the window. Occasionally, she would look to her friends. Ed sat across from her with his head against his arm sleeping. Alex was next to Ed, his arms crossed as he stared thoughtfully off into the distance. Envy sat next to her, his arms also crossed and his eyes closed. Every now and then, he would open one eye to look at her for a moment, before closing it again. At one point, Lyndah was looking at him when he did that. She had smiled kindly at him, which he returned easily in his Vincent disguise.

After a while, Alex decided to break the silence.

"So, Lyndah, are you feeling alright after what happened with Scar yesterday?"

Lyndah felt Envy tense up next to her.

"I've got some bruising and a cracked rib according to Vincent. It's a little painful, so I guess I need to take it easy for a while..." She explained.

Lyndah hated that she was injured. She felt useless. It was easy enough for Ed and Al. All they had to do was see Winry and they'd be all fixed up. But Lyndah would have to wait for the fractured rib to heal.

"I'm sorry to hear that. At least you aren't too badly hurt." Alex stated.

Ed had woken up and looked apologetic.

"Unfortunately medical alchemy isn't one of my skills. Are you sure you don't want to see a doctor?" He asked.

Lyndah shook her head gently.

"No. I'd much rather tag along and help in any way I can." She smiled warmly.

The others smiled back at her, except for Envy. He hid it well, but inside he was seething as he thought about what that bastard Ishvalan did to his human.

 _Wait... my human?_ He thought to himself as he realised what he had just been thinking. He wasn't Greed, he shouldn't be getting possessive over a human. Or anything for that matter. What could possibly be sparking such thoughts? He knew he cared about her as much as he hated to admit it. But was it really getting worse? Maybe he was getting sick? But Homunculi don't get sick. The confusing thoughts frustrated him even more and he stayed in pondering silence for the rest of the train ride.

As the train was stopping in a small town, Alex jumped up and moved towards the window. Everyone looked out to see what he was looking at.

"Dr. Marcoh! Dr. Marcoh, that is you, isn't it? It's me! Alex Louis Armstrong form Central!"

The elderly man with dark hair looked at Alex in fright and started running.

"Friend of yours?" Ed asked, staring after the fleeing man.

Lyndah listened as Alex explained that Dr. Marcoh was an important alchemist and researcher and how he disappeared shortly after the Ishvalan War.

"Well, why don't we go after him?" Envy suddenly piped up.

"Yeah! He might know something about bio-alchemy that could be of use to us!" Ed said excited.

They started to exit the train and Lyndah shot Envy a suspicious glance.

"What?" he said.

"You better not be planning anything." She mumbled so no one else could hear.

Envy shook his head and pushed past her.

"What? I can't help out occasionally?"

Lyndah scrunched her face up for a moment and then followed.

Once they were out of the train with Al's box, Alex made some sketches of Dr. Marcoh.

"Wow, Alex. You're really good!" Lyndah complimented.

"The art of portraiture has been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations!" He spoke proudly.

They split into two groups to ask around the town to see of anyone knew where he was. Ed, Al and Alex went together and Lyndah went with Envy. They agreed to spend half an hour searching before meeting back at the station.

Lyndah asked about 5 people before someone told her the sketch looked like Dr. Mauro. Some other friendly townspeople joined in the conversation as well.

"All of the town's doctors were sent out to fight in the war. Then Dr. Mauro came. He has been a real life saver." One of the townsfolk said.

"You just see this big flash of light and you're cured, just like that." Said another.

They told her where she could find him and she thanked them all for their help.

She turned around and couldn't see Envy anywhere. She started to worry. She began frantically searching around corners trying to find him but he was nowhere to be found. She put her hands up to her head in frustrated desperation.

"I'm right here, idiot." Envy's voice came from behind her.

Lyndah spun around.

"Where _were_ you?" She asked.

"Just gathering information." He smiled crookedly.

"You better not have gone and told anyone about Dr. Marcoh!" She pointed a warning finger at him.

Envy frowned.

"And what if I did?"

Lyndah's eyes widened and she shoved him lightly, trying not to make a scene and wincing slightly when the movement pulled in her chest.

"Why would you do that, Envy?" She pleaded.

"Because it's my job!" Envy raised his voice slightly.

Lyndah stayed silent, staring at him. Envy saw the hurt in her eyes and his face softened. His voice lowered.

"It's not like I have a choice..." He said looking away.

Lyndah was about to speak when she heard her name being called.

"Lyndah!" Ed ran over to her. "Did you find out anything?"

Lyndah and Ed exchanged the information on Dr. Marcoh they had received and it all matched up completely.

"Well, I guess we should go see if he is home." Ed said.

Once they got to the house which they suspected to be Dr. Moaroh's, Ed knocked on the door. After a brief moment of no one answering, Ed decided to try opening the door. Luckily for him, it was unlocked.

As soon as he opened the door, Dr. Marcoh pointed a gun at him. Everyone widened their eyes in shock.

"Have you come to take me back?" Dr. Marcoh snarled.

Lyndah held up her hands.

"Please calm down, sir."

"I'm not going back! Anything but that!" Dr. Marcoh yelled.

"Please, that's not why we're here. If you could just calm down." Alex spoke up.

Dr. Marcoh gripped onto his gun a little tighter.

"So... you're here to silence me then!"

"What? No, nothing like that, sir." Lyndah attempted to calm him down.

Dr. Marcoh continued his defensive banter, but Alex's patience was wearing thin. He threw the box containing Al at Dr. Marcoh.

"I'll ask you one more time, please calm down!"

Ed and Lyndah shrieked as they watched Al's box plummet into Dr. Marcoh.

"Alphonse!" Ed yelped, running towards Al.

A short time later, the group managed to calm down Dr. Marcoh. Lyndah had gotten him a glass of water and they sat around the table.

"So, why Dr. Mauro?" Lyndah asked.

"I guess... I didn't want anyone to find me." Dr. Marcoh explained.

"I see. So you changed your name and decided to live in hiding way out here in the countryside." Alex said.

Dr. Marcoh nodded his head.

"If the rumours I've heard are to be believed, you took top secret materials with you." Alex pressed.

Dr. Marcoh paused for a moment.

"Those rumours are true, Major Armstrong." Dr. Marcoh nodded.

"So why did you leave?" Ed asked.

"I couldn't handle it anymore. Order or no order, to have to dirty my hands researching that... thing... It was too much..." Dr. Marcoh tensed a little.

"What thing is that?" Ed asked.

"It took so many lives... During the civil war, so many innocent lives were lost because of it." Dr. Marcoh said, looking down. "I could spend my whole life trying and still never atone for the things I've done. But... I had to do something. So I came here to be a doctor and save lives instead of taking them."

Alex leaned in closer to Dr. Marcoh.

"Doctor, what exactly was it you were ordered to do research on? What thing?"

Dr. Marcoh paused for a moment, letting out a small sigh before looking up.

"The Philosopher's Stone."

Everyone around the table gasped in disbelief.

"The top secret materials I took were my research documents..." Dr. Marcoh continued. "And the stone itself."

Ed suddenly slapped his hands onto the table.

"You mean you still have it? It's here?" He asked eagerly.

Dr. Marcoh silently pulled a small bottle from his jacket pocket. Inside it was a thick red liquid. He started to unscrew the top of the bottle.

"How can that be the stone? It's liquid!" Ed stated, slightly confused.

Dr. Marcoh tipped the bottle so the liquid fell onto the table, where it took on the shape of a pebble. Ed poked at the stone, which wobbled like jelly.

"The Sages Stone, the Grand Elixir, the Celestial Stone, the Red Tincture, the Fifth Element... Just as the Philosopher's Stone takes on many names, it can take on many forms. It is not necessarily a stone."

Everyone was amazed by it. Dr. Marcoh then turned to Lyndah.

"I noticed you were in some kind of pain when you were getting me water. Please, if you would allow me, I can demonstrate the stone by treating your injury. It is the least I could do. I _am_ a doctor after all."

Lyndah was hesitant but stepped up to Dr. Marcoh and nodded. Everyone watched in awe as Dr. Marcoh returned the stone to its bottle and gripped it tight in his hand. He then placed his other hand onto Lyndah's lower ribs and closed his eyes in concentration. Red sparks crackled around his hands and a flash of red light burst from Lyndah's ribs. Dr. Marcoh then pulled his hand away and opened his eyes with a smile.

"There, that cracked rib and bruising should be all better now."

Lyndah felt around her ribs and gasped. The pain was indeed completely gone. She smiled with delight and awe.

"Wow, thank you so much, sir." She said bowing her head.

Ed's eyes were practically sparkling at the power of the stone.

"You're most welcome, miss. Unfortunately, this is not a complete stone. There is no way to know when it will reach its limits and become unusable." Dr. Marcoh added.

"Finished or not, it has demonstrated plenty of power just here and during the Ishvalan Civil War. This is just like the stone that false priest had in Liore. It was incomplete, but it still amplified his power considerably." Ed grinned. "If imitation stones this powerful can be produced, who says a real one can't be created?" He slapped his hand on the table with enthusiasm, leaning in closer to Dr. Marcoh. "Please Dr. Marcoh, I need access to your research notes."

Dr. Marcoh looked slightly stunned before turning to Alex.

"Major, who exactly is this boy?"

Alex closed his eyes.

"This boy is a state alchemist, Doctor."

Dr. Marcoh's eyes widened.

"What? But he is only a child!" He gave a pained expression and pinched the bridge of his nose. "After the war, there were many state alchemists who turned in their certifications because they refused to serve as human weapons anymore. But now a child..."

"You think I don't know what I've signed up for?" Ed blurted out. "I know what I'm doing, but I don't have any choice. If this is a mistake, then it's a mistake I have to make. There is no other way."

Lyndah thought it best to tell Dr. Marcoh about Ed and Al trying too bring back their mother. After hearing their story, Dr. Marcoh relaxed in his chair a bit.

"I see, so you committed the taboo." He looked at Al. "Amazing. The ability to transmute a specific person's soul like this... Maybe one as talented as you would be able to produce a complete Philosopher's Stone. But I can't show you my research..." He looked down.

"Why not?" Ed asked.

Dr. Marcoh suddenly raised his voice.

"You must not seek after the stone!"

"Even if it's to get our bodies back?!" Ed retorted.

"Never. This is the devil's research! If you chase the stone, you will go through hell." Dr. Marcoh stated simply.

Lyndah felt uneasy as she watched the situation unfold. She watched Ed's brow twitch and knew this wouldn't end well.

"I've already been through hell!" Ed shouted at the other man.

Dr. Marcoh only rested his face in his hands.

"Please... Please just leave..."

Alex knew there was no use in staying here and ushered everyone out of the old man's residence. They slowly made their way back to the station.

"Way to go, Ed. You got us kicked out of his house." Lyndah said with a huff.

"Don't worry about it. This was a complete waste of time anyway..." Ed responded.

Lyndah could see that Ed was incredibly disappointed by the outcome with Dr. Marcoh. He was so close to what he wanted, but couldn't grasp it. But she kept feeling troubled by what Dr. Marcoh had said. _The devil's research._ What could that even mean? Lyndah thought about Envy's Philosopher's Stone and all the people it contained. A sick feeling in her stomach started to form at the thought of the connection between those people's deaths and the stone. Lyndah turned to Envy who seemed to be completely avoiding eye contact. It looked like he was looking for something. She wanted to ask, but it was probably best that she didn't.

The group settled down on a bench to wait for the next train. Alex then turned to Ed.

"Are you sure about this, Ed? Even an incomplete stone could have been useful. You could have just taken it."

"Yeah, I wanted it so bad I could almost taste it." Ed smiled and looked to Al. " But still..."

"But still, we wouldn't want to deprive a town of their only doctor to get it." Al finished.

Lyndah smiled at her friends. Even now, when they were so close to their goal, they put the needs of others before their own. This was why these were her best friends.

Envy looked at Lyndah smiling at the boy's response with a hint of jealousy. He just couldn't understand it. Why would they not take the stone? Who cares about the town, they could find a new doctor! Or leave town! Why was Lyndah happy with this? What did the pipsqueak have that he didn't? Why couldn't he get that look of respect and appreciation? Not even Father gave him that look... Envy's thoughts were distracted when he caught a glimpse of a woman watching them from around a corner some distance away. She wore all black and had wavy black hair. When she caught Envy's gaze, her deep red lips curled into a wicked smile. Envy gave a small nod and the woman disappeared.

The next train pulled into the station and the group picked up their things.

"What about you, Major?" Ed asked. "How do you feel about not reporting back to Central about Dr. Marcoh's location?"

"I met a simple small town doctor today. I can't see any reason to report that." He replied calmly.

Ed and Lyndah smiled at Alex. But then Lyndah remembered when Envy disappeared earlier and she felt a pang of guilt.

Her thoughts were cut off when a voice called out to them.

"Wait!" Dr. Marcoh ran towards them.

When he got to them, he stopped for a moment, putting his hands to his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He then handed Ed a piece of paper. Ed looked at the man with confusion.

"This is where my materials are. If you are certain you won't regret learning the truth in the end, start looking here. Look closely... Maybe you'll find the truth hidden within the truth. But... I've said too much already." Dr. Marcoh smiled and walked off. After a few steps, he turned and waved. "I hope the day will come where you are able to restore your bodies."

Alex gave the man a salute and Ed and Lyndah waved as they watched him leave. The horn of the train sounded and they quickly went to board. Lyndah hung back a little and eyed Envy with concern.

"Is he going to be okay?" She whispered to him.

"Of course he is. We don't intend on hurting him. Quit worrying already." He said before boarding the train. She sighed, feeling a little bit of relief and boarded after him.

Once they were settled in their seats, Al spoke up from his crate on the floor.

"Brother, what does the note say?"

Ed pulled out the note and opened it.

"National Central Library, 1st branch." He read out loud.

Everyone looked surprised.

"I get it." Alex piped up. "It's like hiding a tree in the forest. Finding one book in that giant library will be difficult indeed."

"Finally, another clue about the stone." Ed smiled.

They were quiet for the rest of the trip to Risembool. Lyndah felt her eyes get heavy as she watched the fields pass by the window.

 **A/N: Hoping you all had a fantastic Christmas or whatever you do for that day and had a wonderful new years~ The journey to Risembool will continue soon. The chapter will be based on a request that I was more than happy to put in**


	7. Risembool

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters, original plot, quoted lines etc. I write my own version out of love and appreciation of such a great series**

 **A/N: Hey everyone. As promised, here is the chapter that has taken me so long to complete. Hoping I didn't miss any errors and that you all enjoy it. Please tell me if it's okay. I did most of this from a request and I hope that it makes that person happy. I thought it was a great idea~**

Lyndah was awoken by a poke to her side. She opened her eyes to find the face of Vincent staring expectantly at her while her friends were grabbing their luggage. She must have fallen asleep for the rest of the train ride. She gathered her things and stepped out of the train with the others.

"So where's Winry's place?" She asked.

"It's a bit of a walk." Ed replied sheepishly.

Lyndah let out a groan and followed behind Ed who had already started walking.

The town itself was small, being the country. Many of the residents owned farms so properties were vast and roads were long.

After they had been walking down a road for some time, Lyndah noticed a lone house which lay straight ahead. An old woman was working on the garden out the front accompanied by a dog.

"Well, here we are." Ed said smiling.

The dog spotted the group and started wagging his tail and barking, making the old woman look up.

"Yo, Granny!" Ed shouted, waving.

"We're home!" Said Al.

The old woman looked at the two damaged boys.

"Oh dear, what have you done now?"

Ed grinned sheepishly.

"A lot has happened. Can you fix us up?"

Alex stepped forward and placed Al's crate down on the lawn. Ed gestured to Alex.

"This is Major Alex Louis Armstrong." He then motioned to Lyndah. "And this is Lyndah, a friend we've made along the way."

Lyndah and Alex both shook hands with the old woman.

"Oh and this is Vincent Canter, Ma'am." Lyndah piped up pointing at Envy with a smile. Envy gave a professional salute.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell." Pinako said before turning back to Ed. "I know I haven't seen you in a while, Ed, but you've gone and grown smaller."

Ed's jaw clenched and he balled his hand into a fist.

"Granny, you've got it wrong. You're supposed to say how _big_ I've gotten." He snarled.

"Why would I say something so clearly untrue?" Pinako asked.

Lyndah couldn't help but chuckle at their behaviour.

"I'm still taller than you, you mini hag!" Ed yelled.

Suddenly a wrench flew into Ed's face sending him stumbling. Everyone turned to see Winry standing on the balcony.

"Hey, Winry!" Lyndah called out and waved.

The annoyance on Winry's face softened at the sight of the other girl.

"Lyndah! Oh, it's so good to see you! Hold on, I'll be down in a second." She said retreating back into the house.

A moment later, she came out of the front door and threw her arms around Lyndah. The two girls gave each other a tight embrace then Winry pulled Lyndah inside. Everyone else shrugged and followed them in.

"Welcome to my home~" Winry almost sang.

Her happy facade came to a halt the moment she saw Ed placing a heap of crushed metal onto the table.

"Wha... What did you do to my automail!" Winry screamed in despair.

Ed rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry. It's a little smashed up."

"A little smashed up?" Winry began. "Ed, do you see what you did to my beautiful creation? I slaved over this!"

Pinako walked around and handed everyone some tea. Lyndah thanked her kindly before turning back to watch the disaster between Ed and Winry unfold. Envy gave her a small nudge.

"Does this always happen?" He asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Lyndah nodded. "But between you and me, I'm almost certain they fancy each other." She snickered.

Envy narrowed his eyes.

"You humans are weird." He mumbled.

Ed took a sip of his tea.

"It's basically the same, just in smaller pieces."

Winry's fist then pummelled Ed in the face and she turned to Al.

"Don't tell me, you a little smashed up to, Al? What kind of trouble have you been getting yourselves into?"

Al made a small, guilty sound before receiving a foot to the head from Winry.

"You idiots. All you ever do is worry me!" Winry seethed.

Lyndah decided it best not to mention that she was injured in the same fight. She preferred the happy girly side she got. There was no way she wanted to receive Winry's punishment.

After sitting down and explaining the need to get to Central as soon as possible, Pinako rested her chin on her hands in thought.

"This will be a rush order." She stated before examining the automail on Ed's leg. "Hmm. It's not just your arm. Your leg needs adjusting too."

Winry gave Ed a mocking grin.

"Guess your growths not stunted after all."

"Shut up!" Ed snapped back.

"We will have to make the whole thing from scratch." Pinako said, taking a puff from her pipe.

"Do you think you can have it done in a week?" Ed asked.

"Give us some credit, Ed." Pinako said, exhaling some smoke. "Three days."

Ed smiled at her response. Envy's face fell.

"You mean I'm stuck with the pipsqueak for three days?" He muttered under his breath.

Lyndah nudged him in the side.

"Hey, you'll have me here." She whispered back.

Envy contemplated it. He wouldn't have to be near the pipsqueak much. He could use this to get to know Lyndah more. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Pinako walked over to a box and pulled out a shabby looking automail leg.

"You'll have to wear this temporary one for now."

She attached the temporary leg and Ed moved around a bit trying to adjust to the unfamiliar leg. Winry picked up Ed's automail and did some calculations in her head.

"That's going to be three all nighters."

Ed looked at her guiltily as she left the room to start her work. Pinako then turned to Lyndah, Vincent and Alex.

"You're all welcome to stay here. We have a few extra rooms." She stated.

"That's very kind of you. Thank you." Lyndah bowed slightly.

After setting her stuff in one of the rooms, Lyndah turned around to see Envy.

"Let's go for a walk." He demanded.

Lyndah stared at him blankly for a moment, not expecting him to want to do something. Envy just glared back at her with folded arms.

"Okay. Sure." She replied.

As Lyndah and Envy exited the house, they saw Alex outside chopping some wood, his flexing muscles glistening in the sunlight. Pinako appeared to be having a nice time watching him which made Lyndah pull a face before approaching them.

"Do you need something, Lyndah?" Alex asked, lowering the axe.

"Just letting you know Vincent and I are going to go for a walk. Where's Ed and Al?" Lyndah said looking around.

"We put Al over with the chickens. He has always been fond of animals." Pinako stated, pipe to her lips. "As for Ed, he went to visit his mother's grave."

Lyndah lowered her heard.

"Oh, I see... Well, we'll be back later, okay? You should tell Alex about what happened with Ed and Al." Lyndah suggested.

"I suppose I should. Be back in time for dinner." Pinako replied.

"We will." Lyndah said waving a hand.

Lyndah and Envy walked through the fields until they came to a small forest surrounding a river. Lyndah sat down by the clear water and watched as fish swam by. Envy let go of his Vincent disguise now that they were alone and sat beside her. They were silent for several minutes before Envy decided to make conversation.

"So Pipsqueak used to live here, huh?"

Lyndah looked up from the gently flowing water and stared aimlessly into the sky.

"Yeah, not too far from here apparently. That house isn't there anymore though. Winry's family took them in after their mother died..." Lyndah stated with a sad expression.

Envy studied her face, how she suddenly went from looking peaceful to unhappy at the thought of the two Elric's losing their mother. He wondered why it made her sad. She never knew their mother, it made no sense to him. The human emotion to feel bad for another like that was something he wasn't familiar with. He hated it. He wanted to understand it so much. It wasn't fair that humans could feel the way they do but he couldn't.

Lyndah looked at Envy and saw his furrowed brows and her face fell into one of concern.

"Are you okay, Envy?"

Her words snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked into her kind eyes, her pupils large against her shining blue irises in the shade of the forest. If he had a proper heart, it would have frozen in that moment when he saw how the light that trickled in from between the leaves of the trees kissed at her blonde strands making them glow like gold and how there was just enough light to make her eyes sparkle. He had never noticed this look to her before, it was almost mesmerising.

Envy's face had turned into one of confusion without him knowing. Lyndah tilted her head to the side and poked his arm lightly.

"Hey, you keep pulling faces, what's up?" She prodded.

Envy turned his head away. What was he doing? This wasn't like him at all. Since when did he care about the way she looked? She was a human... He realised he had thought like this before. Did he actually find her... beautiful? He has never thought of anything as beautiful before. Not anything that wasn't violent.

Lyndah sighed out of his view in disappointment and he realised he had to respond. What would he say though? He couldn't let her know about his odd thoughts about her. No way. But would it be alright to tell her his true feelings towards humans? He hesitated before letting out a sigh.

"I wish I understood your emotions." He mumbled, still averting his gaze.

Lyndah looked at him with surprise. Was he attempting to open up to her? Her cheeks flushed a little and she gave a small smile.

"It's okay to not understand something. There's always time to learn."

Envy turned to look at her. The smile she wore was so warm and sincere that it made him feel instantly calm. But then he remembered, homunculi aren't capable of having those human emotions. He let out a long sigh.

"Homunculi can't feel what you feel..." He said in a low and almost defeated voice.

"Can't, or haven't?" Lyndah replied.

Envy was confused by her answer.

"What do you mean?" he asked, intrigued.

"I mean, how do you know for sure that you can't? There is a first time for everything. Maybe you just haven't had the experiences to have these emotions. I mean, I'm probably the first human you've even bothered to spend time with, I'm guessing." She responded.

Envy thought about it for a moment. Was she right? It was true that none of the other homunculi had even tried to feel the emotions he so desperately wanted. Plus, he really hadn't had a bond with a human until now. It was the first time he cared... so maybe there was hope?

"Could you teach me?" Envy asked quietly, looking down at his lap.

Lyndah gave him a kind smile and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. He looked at her small, delicate hand resting on him and then to her face.

"I'll do my best." She said warmly.

Envy relaxed a little and the corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly into a smile. He then drew his attention back to the flowing water.

They sat there in silence for some time, enjoying the peace and quiet of their surroundings. Envy's attention was suddenly caught by the sudden movement of Lyndah getting up to crouch by the water. He watched her in confusion as she held her cupped hands over the water and suddenly plunged them in, pulling them out right away with a disappointed scowl.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

She didn't turn to look at him and kept focusing on the water.

"Trying to catch the fish." She said as if it was obvious.

Envy looked at her like she had gone mad.

"Why the hell are you trying to catch fish with your hands?" He questioned.

She turned to him with an innocent look.

"Because I want to." She looked at him and gave a small pout.

Envy didn't know how to react. This was completely out of the blue. After staring at her for nearly a minute without responding, he watched her turn back to the water and wait for more fish to appear. After a moment, he decided to watch. She attempted to catch three fish, but failed each time. Lyndah's face flustered a little in frustration and she made a small high pitched growling sound and waved her fists around. Envy sniggered a little, finding her antics amusing.

He turned to the water and saw a few fish swimming within his reach. Quickly, he plunged his hands in and enveloped one of the fish, lifting it from the water in the tiny pool that formed in his hands. Lyndah looked at him in surprise and jealousy.

"What?! How come you can catch one on your first try! No fair!" She yelled in a small, defeated voice.

Envy gave her a smug smirk. He had won. He wasn't the jealous one. Not this time.

"Jealous..." He teased.

Lyndah looked down in anguish. Envy suddenly became unamused and irritated by her pathetic look, and moved closer, nudging her with his elbow. She looked up to see him holding his cupped hands over hers. She cupped her hands and he emptied the water and the small fish into them. Her face immediately brightened, watching the small creature swim curiously around the small space in her hands. Envy watched her gleefully staring at the fish and couldn't help but smirk. He could have questioned why this silly little event filled him with a feeling of warmth, but he pushed it out of his mind.

After a few minutes, Lyndah gently released the fish back into the water and turned to Envy.

"T-thank you..." She said shyly, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

Envy gave her a blank stare. He had never gotten gratitude over something so moronic in his life.

"It's no big deal." He shrugged.

Lyndah only smiled at him.

They stayed silent for the remainder of the afternoon, simply enjoying the breeze. Envy was just happy that he didn't have to be around anyone for a while. As the sun began to set, Lyndah got up from the riverbank.

"We should head back. Dinner will be ready soon."

Envy nodded at her reluctantly and stood up. Red sparks crackled around his body and he reassumed the form of Vincent.

When they walked in through the front door, they were greeted by quite the scene. Alex appeared to be crying while holding Ed firmly against his bare chest. Envy looked on in disgust. The hell was wrong with these people?

"Don't rub your chest on me!" Ed yelled out from Alex's arms, squirming in his attempt to escape the man's offer of comfort.

"I take it you told Alex the story." Lyndah asked Pinako.

"Yep. He sure got worked up about it." She said, taking a puff from her pipe.

Lyndah and Envy followed Pinako to the dinner table where Al was already placed nearby. On the table were plates and bowls already set up. A pot containing a broth sat in the centre with a roast chicken alongside it surrounded by roasted veggies. Lyndah counted the set up places on the table.

"Is Winry not joining us?" She asked Pinako.

"No, she is busy with Ed's automail. I'll take some food up for her in a moment." She replied.

Ed stood in the doorway with a pang of guilt on his face.

"Don't worry, Ed. She chose to work this hard on it. You know it's her passion." Lyndah tried to comfort him.

Ed relaxed a little bit, but he still felt bad. Everyone sat down at the table and quietly had dinner, Pinako taking some up for Winry before coming back to have her own. Ed went to grab his glass to take a drink but stopped suddenly, giving the liquid a death glare. Lyndah looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Just drink the milk, Ed..." She sighed.

"No way." Ed retorted while crossing his arms like a child.

"Stop being so ungrateful, Ed!" She raised her voice in annoyance.

Alex leaned towards Pinako.

"What's wrong with the milk?" He asked her behind his hand.

"Ed's never liked milk. That's why he never grows!" She raised her voice for the last part so Ed would hear it.

"Come here and say that!" Ed yelled across the table.

Envy slowly ate his dinner, trying to look as normal as possible while Lyndah crawled onto Ed and nearly drowned him while force-feeding him the milk. Once the glass was empty and half of its contents were on Ed, Lyndah went back to eating her dinner. The rest of the meal was rather peaceful, much to Envy's delight. Nobody spoke to him at all, which made it even better.

After helping Pinako clean up, Lyndah retired to her makeshift room. It was small, with a bed by the window, a cupboard and a chest of drawers with a small mirror on top. Her bag, which she had left in here earlier, sat beside the bed. She walked over to the bed and sat down. A knock came from her door and she already knew who it was.

"Come in." She said.

Envy opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him.

"What did you think of dinner?" Lyndah asked him.

"Meh, it was okay. I only ate it because I have to blend in." He shrugged, losing his disguise.

He sat on the bed next to her and looked at her expectantly.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm bored." He stated flatly.

Lyndah sighed and figured that homunculi don't need to sleep. She thought for a moment and came up with an idea.

"Come with me." She said, grabbing his wrist.

He quickly resumed his disguise and they ran out of her room. As quietly as possible, they darted out of the house. It was mostly dark outside except for the light of the moon and the dim light coming out from Winry's window on the top floor. The cool air sent a shiver across Lyndah's skin, but it wasn't too cold.

Envy watched as Lyndah summoned her aura so it formed small discs that led up the side of the house. She started running up them and beckoned for him to follow. Hesitantly, he made his way up and they climbed up onto the roof. Envy heard as the discs they had just climbed quietly shattered behind them and he watched as Lyndah laid herself down. She patted the space next to her and he slowly made his way over to lie beside her. He rested his head on his hands and let go of his disguise.

"Aren't the stars pretty out here?" Lyndah asked, looking at the sky.

Envy looked up at the stars. It was true, they could be seen a lot better from this far out location where there weren't many lights. Envy had never really taken notice before.

"I guess so."

Lyndah smiled and continued to view the masterpiece in the sky. Envy glanced over at her and noticed how the stars reflected dazzlingly from her eyes as they wandered. He felt his chest warm and he felt... happy. Lyndah was the first human to ever make him feel happy without being covered in blood or screaming in terror. He still couldn't figure out what it was about her that was so different. It annoyed him, being mentally weakened so easily by a human. But he couldn't keep himself away. These unusual caring feelings he had been experiencing with her... He was starting to feel more...

He wouldn't dare think it. He wouldn't dare lower himself to a human. He was superior. He told himself this time and time again, but deep down he knew it was something he longed for...

"Envy, do you have a family?" Lyndah was now looking at him with interest.

"That's none of your business." He said bluntly.

Lyndah's eyes saddened and she turned away. Envy looked at that disappointed face that he hated and internally groaned.

"Yes. You could call it a family." He said after a few moments.

Lyndah's face lit up at hearing the information.

"Could you tell me about them?" She pressed.

Envy clenched his teeth. Damn, she was nosey.

"Alright, but no one else hears about it, okay?"

"I promise." Lyndah nodded holding out her pinkie.

"The hell are you doing?" Envy narrowed his eyes at her.

"It's a way to say you promise. You're not allowed to break a pinkie promise." She smiled warmly.

Envy thought it was ridiculous, but he guess it couldn't hurt. _What the hell..._

He reluctantly linked fingers with her.

"So this means if you break it, I get to torture you until you pass out from the pain, right?" He asked with a half-hearted evil smirk.

Lyndah rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Alright, fine." She replied, fully intending on keeping the promise.

Envy took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Well, there's Father. He created all of us..." He began.

"You have a father?" Lyndah asked.

"Yeah, but not like you humans. I don't have normal parents. Just the one who created me"

Lyndah looked at Envy with slightly saddened eyes.

"I see... So there are more Homunculi? The Fuhrer is one too, right?" She got a little closer to listen intently.

"Yeah, Wrath is the youngest of us actually." Envy stated.

"Really? But he looks so old!" Lyndah said in amazement.

Envy let out a small chuckle.

"He was made a little differently to the rest of us. He was a human once. The Philosopher's Stone was fused with his blood. He still ages a bit like a human."

Lyndah stared wide eyed in interest.

"So who are the others?" She pressed.

"Well, there is also Lust and Gluttony who were at the church in Liore with me. There's also Greed, Pride and Sloth." Envy listed off on his fingers.

Lyndah remembered the encounter in the church and the man named Finley who was consumed. A look of horror etched its way onto her face.

"What?" Envy asked with slight unease.

"That man... he... he was eaten by Gluttony, wasn't he?" She said covering her mouth.

"You're pretty sharp. Damn thing never stops eating." Envy huffed.

Lyndah tried to compose herself and shake the memory.

"What are the rest of them like?" She questioned in an attempt to forget about Gluttony.

"Well, Lust is alright. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be her. She kind of id to me what you humans would call a sister. Greed... he can fall off the face of the planet for all I care. Arrogant prick... Then there is Sloth. There isn't really anything exciting about him. The eldest of us is Pride. He definitely takes after Father." Envy said.

"I see." Lyndah said, thinking. "Do you think I'll ever get to meet any more of your family?"

Envy tensed.

"I hope not..." He said quietly.

Lyndah said nothing more. She simply looked out to the stars in contemplation. Envy looked up again as well, a slightly sickening feeling burning in his gut.

A short time later, Envy looked back over to see Lyndah had fallen asleep. He sighed, rolling his eyes and lifted himself up. After stretching his limbs, he gently hoisted the sleeping girl into his arms with little effort and leaped off the roof onto a nearby tree before jumping down to the ground. Lyndah only stirred a little to snuggle her face into his shoulder. Envy froze at the action and his chest tightened again into that unfamiliar feeling again. Shaking it off, he put on the Vincent look again and carried the warm, slumbering human inside and to her bed. He gently placed her under the covers and turned to leave, stopping at the open door. Changing his mind, he silently closed the door and sat on the end of her bed.

 _It wouldn't hurt to guard her for a while..._

Guarding... yes. That was what he would call it. The reason he would rather sit in this room with her all night than sit in his alone.

By the time Lyndah awoke the next morning, Envy was gone. It took her a moment to realise she hadn't fallen asleep in this bed and that Envy must have carried her in. Her faced flushed at the thought and she buried it into her pillow.

After getting herself ready, she joined everyone else at the table for breakfast. Envy stalked in after her, acting casual and mildly sleepy and took a seat next to Lyndah.

Alex was making bacon and eggs in the kitchen and gave everyone a generous helping.

"Thanks for helping out around here." Pinako patted Alex on the arm.

"It is the least I can do for your hospitality." Alex replied solemnly.

After breakfast, Lyndah decided to help Pinako clean the house, making Envy lift and carry things for her. Envy reluctantly did as he was told, giving that false Vincent smile that he had perfected. But underneath he was screaming.

It was after lunch when Envy pulled Lyndah back to the river, finally letting go of his disguise and flopping himself onto the grass with a groan.

"That was such a drag!" He whined.

Lyndah chortled at his childishness and sat down beside him.

"Hey, you did good. Thanks for helping." She smiled warmly.

Envy relaxed a bit at her words and laid his head onto his arms. Lyndah looked at him fondly. The way he stared off in what always appeared to be serious thought, it made him look so...

Lyndah cut herself off from her own thoughts. Was she about to say attractive? She looked down towards the water, the muscles in her face tightening and her skin became hot. Lucky for her, Envy didn't notice.

When the hot feeling finally subsided, she thought back to the conversation from yesterday. Envy had actually opened up to her a bit, so maybe she should return the favour? Would he even care about her life though?

"Hey, Envy..." She began.

"Mm?" Envy turned towards her.

"So... you told me about your family yesterday." She pointed out.

She was about to continue but Envy surprised her.

"Yeah, you should tell me about yours. Also what's Aurora like?" He asked.

She paused for a moment before smiling.

"Well, I lived with my parents and my older brother, Andrew. My father runs a factory that makes cars and my mother teaches young children. Andrew left to follow a dream several years ago in the north of our country where he met his fiancée and became a doctor. He said someone important would need his help there one day." She smiled fondly at memories of her brother.

Envy looked at her with keen interest.

"A dream?" He asked.

"Yeah, Aurorans are known to have dreams telling us our destiny." She nodded.

"Have you had a dream?" He pressed.

Lyndah thought for a moment. Should she tell him?

"Yes I have. It told me to come here. That someone needed me." She smiled, staring directly into his eyes.

Envy felt his cheeks get slightly warmer. Why was she staring at him like that?

"Have you found them?" Envy tilted his head.

"The dream was of you, silly." She beamed, a light pink shading her cheeks.

Envy's eyes widened before his face fell slightly.

"Is that why you're so nice to me?" He seemed somewhat disappointed.

Lyndah noticed Envy's face was reflecting the same loneliness as his Aura and she leaned over to place a hand on his knee. Envy looked up at her, his eyes searching hers.

"It helped, but I actually thought we were friends." She smiled in hope.

Envy's pupils shrunk in shock. A friend? He had a friend? He had never thought about it. Was this what this was? But there was no denying the sudden warmth that engulfed him at the word 'friend'. The moment the word left her lips, it struck him like a train. But it didn't hurt. It wasn't even uncomfortable. It felt like a weight lifted from his shoulders.

"I'm..." He couldn't get the words out.

Lyndah simply nodded, holding that warm smile. What happened next was not what Lyndah expected. Two arms looped around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. She blushed, eyes wide but dared not move. His arms were strangely comforting.

"Thank you." He whispered, before pulling away to stare back into the water.

Lyndah sat in disbelief, the warmth of the embrace still lingering on her body. She felt her heart beat irregularly for a second and she tried to shake the feeling that was suddenly building in her chest.

"So..." Envy started, pulling Lyndah back from her thoughts. "Did you like Aurora?"

Lyndah's eyes filled with sadness.

"I did... but I never really had any friends..." She trailed off.

"How could _you_ not have friends?" He asked irritably.

"I took a little longer to use my aura than the other kids... I wasn't as good..." She stated meekly. "They made fun of me..."

She was startled when Envy's fist struck the ground, leaving an indent in the soil.

"You didn't deserve that!" He roared.

Red sparks started wrapping themselves around his arm and he widened his eyes. Lyndah thought she heard a mumbled 'not now' and watched him put his head between his knees trying to calm down.

"I'm happier here anyway. I've got friends now like you and Ed." She smiled.

Envy turned to see that smile he could hear in her voice and it instantly calmed him. She wouldn't need to see that. He hoped she never saw that...

A little while later, Lyndah and Envy made their way back to the house and into Lyndah's room. She pulled out some paper and a pencil and started writing. Envy, now back in his Vincent form, sat on the end of her bed, intrigued.

"What are you writing?" He asked.

"It's a letter to my parents. I need to know if there is anything back home that could help in figuring out a way to separate a chimera." She said with a determined look.

"Well I couldn't even tell you that. I've seen a lot of chimeras and people who make them, but no one knows how to undo it." He admitted.

"There are other chimeras?" Lyndah questioned with a concerned look.

"Yep." Envy said before noticing that miserable look again. "Don't give me that. It's not my fault. I just feed them. Most of them are animals."

Lyndah nodded in confirmation and her face lifted a bit. She couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling in the back of her mind though. Still, she continued her letter.

That night, a dream appeared. Lyndah knew this was no ordinary dream. In it she saw a man from another country, his hair long and in a ponytail. He gripped onto something, a creature, red and full of power. The man was screaming out in anguish, but Lyndah could not hear him. The red creature began to fade and disappear with sad eyes. Just before he was about to disappear, someone screamed. It was a woman crying out one word... Greed.

Lyndah awoke with a start. Sitting in bed, she tried to catch her breath and relax her pounding heart. A knock sounded on her door and she flattened her hair quickly to appear more normal.

"Come in." She called.

Envy strolled in casually, closing the door behind him so he could remove his disguise again.

"Could hear you gasping from the next room. What's up?" He asked, folding his arms.

It took her a couple of seconds to gather her thoughts.

"I had another dream. It was about Greed." She stated firmly.

Envy tensed at hearing the name of the sibling he hated.

"Why the hell would you be dreaming about _him_?" He huffed.

The anger brewing in him was evident. Lyndah's eyes softened.

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"Guy pisses me off." He sneered.

"That's sad. He seems like a nice guy deep down. It looked like people cared about him. But he was... dying." Lyndah said quietly.

"Good!" Envy turned away.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what I am meant to do. It wasn't clear." Lyndah said, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Well just forget it for now." Envy waved his hand.

Lyndah figured it was probably best to not look into it yet. She would know when the time was right, she guessed.

Lyndah had brought a sketchbook and a pencil with her to the river this time. Envy watched her as she sketched the surrounding scenery with relative ease and skill.

"You're pretty good at that." He stated.

Lyndah's cheeks changed shade ever so slightly and she smiled.

"Thanks Envy."

Envy smirked fondly at her gratitude. There was just something so warm and inviting whenever she wore that smile, her cheeks changing that funny colour like someone had slapped her around a few times. Envy pondered as to why that kept happening. It was highly amusing. He flopped down in to the grass and stared at the clouds floating by.

"So you and the pipsqueak, you all the same age or...?" He queried.

Lyndah didn't look away from her work.

"No, Ed's 15 and Al's 14. I'm 18, though a lot of people assume I'm the same age as them even though I'm clearly taller than Ed." She huffed.

Envy hummed thoughtfully.

"I think I'm about 175. I don't really keep track." He shrugged.

"You don't really age though, so it doesn't count." Lyndah mocked, turning a page to start a new drawing.

"Guess not..." He trailed off.

"Aurorans live pretty long lives compared to other humans. All depends on the strength of their Aura. Who knows, I could get that old." She chuckled, glancing at him.

"What's the oldest and Auroran has lived for?" Envy asked, propping himself up to listen.

"Well..." She looked up again before going back to her paper. "The last man who was able to perform life sustaining Aura lived for five hundred years. We don't usually make it much further than a hundred and fifty though."

"Interesting." Envy said laying back down.

They were silent for some time, every now and again Lyndah glancing towards Envy. Eventually he noticed.

"What?" He asked slightly annoyed.

Lyndah smiled and turned her current work around. It was an expertly drawn portrait of him as he was in the grass. Envy's mouth flared into a cocky grin.

"You sure captured my good looks." He said sifting a hand though his locks.

Lyndah chuckled at him, packing up her stuff.

When they got back to the house, they found Ed and Al in the grass. Ed was kicking his legs in an impatient fit. Lyndah laughed before sitting next to Al.

"Ed getting impatient?" She mocked.

"She said it would take three days, so give it three days." Al said to Ed.

Lyndah tried to suppress her laughter when Ed groaned loudly.

"You're such a baby." Piped up the voice of Vincent from behind Lyndah.

Lyndah turned around in surprise to see the casual mocking look on Envy's disguise. The crooked smile of someone who was nothing like the homunculus that lay underneath.

"Am not!" Ed yelled grabbing a fistful of grass and throwing it unsuccessfully towards Envy.

Envy chuckled loudly in Vincent's deep voice and Lyndah couldn't help laughing along. It sure would be great if Envy got along with them like this all the time.

The next morning was when Winry ran out with the completed automail. Lyndah and Envy stood by and watched as Pinako and Winry attached the new automail, Ed yelping at the feeling of the nerves connecting. As soon as he gave them a stretch, he was out the door running to Al.

Al was fixed in seconds thanks to Ed's alchemy. Envy looked slightly confused.

"So how come you couldn't fix him?" He asked.

"I can't manipulate metal, only Aura. Even if I was one of the best, I could only work with something that has a living biology. If only I could though, then I wouldn't have to worry about broken ribs." She huffed.

Envy was satisfied with her answer and said no more as they watched the two boys sparring.

That evening, Lyndah was helping clean the house one last time when she saw Alex lurking in the hallway. Intrigued, she crept up next to him and could hear talking from the room nearby. Pinako and Al were discussing a sleeping Ed.

"Sleeping with his tummy out again." She heard Al chuckle lightly.

She couldn't hold back the smile. Al then thanked Pinako for her and Winry always giving them a home and treating them like family. His voice was full of emotion and gratitude. Lyndah could feel the sincerity in his voice. She knew how alone they must have felt sometimes. It couldn't be easy being in their shoes. A loud sniff pulled her from her thoughts and she turned to see Alex wiping a tissue to watery eyes. She smiled, patting him on the shoulder in understanding before walking away. These were her friends and she knew she could always count on them. Tomorrow, they would be heading back to Central to check out the library. Whatever the path ahead held, she knew none of them would face it alone.

Far to the north in the fort known as Briggs, Olivier Armstrong stood alone on a balcony staring out over the snowy horizon. In hand was half a cup of steaming coffee. Taking a sip, she thought how lacking it tasted compared to the coffee in her favourite inn. Remembering her last visit there lifted the corners of her lips only a millimetre as she remembered the man she met.

She was suddenly aware of a presence looming some distance along the balcony behind her. Keeping her coffee in one hand, she drew her sword, swinging her body around to point it at the intruder.

"What is it with you and pointing that sword at me?" Greed asked with his hands up defensively.

Olivier stared at him with wide eyes.

"How did you even get in here?!" Her tone was demanding.

Greed chuckled as he inched closer, passing her gradually lowering sword. She kept a firm grip on it, prepared for anything unexpected.

"I have my ways." He grinned nonchalantly.

"So then why did you follow me?" She asked narrowing her eyes.

"You're enchanting." He replied.

"Yeah, right." She huffed.

Greed's attention turned to the cup in her hand.

"Ah, coffee." He grinned.

Olivier sighed and stretched out the arm holding the cup.

"Here, it's not that great anyway."

Greed looked at her offer a moment then took the cup from her hands.

"Why thank you, kind lady." He bowed sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the scenery.

"If I find out you're planning something, I will kill you. Understand?" She stated firmly.

Greed took a sip of the coffee.

"Relax, I'm only here to see my gal... You're right, this is terrible." He said sculling down the rest of the coffee.

"Your girl, huh?" She peered at him with a raised brow. "I don't know why I haven't cut you down already."

"Admit it, you're attracted to me." Greed leaned against the railing with a cocky grin.

Olivier moved away from the railing and started walking away.

"Don't let anyone see you, or you won't know what hit you." She paused before she got to the nearby door. "And I mean it. Cause any trouble and you're gone. I'm not usually this nice." She exited through the door.

Greed stood on the balcony with a knowing smile. Looking down at his hand, he saw he still had the coffee cup she had been using.

Tucking it into his jacket, he turned back to stare out over the frozen land. His Philosopher's Stone pulsing abnormally strongly in his chest, he released a comfortable sigh.


End file.
